


Simulacrum (Not a Zombie)

by Maimat



Category: Lucifer (TV)
Genre: F/M, Lucifer Returns From Hell, Post-Season/Series 04, Temporary Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-08-20
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:55:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 24,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25919191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maimat/pseuds/Maimat
Summary: Post Season 4 (Speculation only, No spoilers for season 5).Lucifer washes up on the beach with no memory of the past year. Nothing is as it seems.
Relationships: Chloe Decker/Lucifer Morningstar
Comments: 79
Kudos: 205





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to my lovely online friends who have helped me with this story, and to my beta readers, Hircine_Taoist and Miah_Arthur.

Ella took a moment to look over the scene before approaching. 

The medical examiner had already confirmed the death. No resuscitation efforts had been made. The naked body lay face down on the sand and had not been disturbed beyond the initial exam. No rigor mortis, but livor mortis had set in, turning the skin a light purplish color. 

Ella documented and photographed the scene, carefully tracking the footprints of the jogger who discovered the body. More footprints, these belonged to the EMS. The medical examiner had approached from the south, in the direction of the closest parking lot. There were no signs of drag marks, and no footprints deep enough to indicate the body had been carried. It was a busy beach. If she didn’t get these pictures taken soon, bystanders were bound to contaminate the scene. 

Techs set up a barrier to block the view of the scene from the road. 

Ella approached the decedent and crouched to conduct her examination. It seemed redundant but she checked for a pulse. Nothing. She documented the time, the outdoor temperature. Noted the temperature of the decedent felt cold. Tardieu spots were present on the underside of the legs and torso. 

“Sorry, dude,” she said softly. "Doesn't look like a fun way to go. Cool tat though.” She took a photo of the black circle tattooed around the dead guys’ shoulder blades. It looked like a mix of geometric lines blended together with stylized zodiac symbols. Cool. She wondered if he’d been a fantasy or science fiction fan, or maybe just really into horoscopes.

She took the photos. 

The decedent died here. He had crawled out of the water and up onto the beach. Blood had seeped into the sand. No entry wound on the back, but she’d see more as soon as she got him rolled over. 

The techs had already done a sweep of the area. They needed to collect as much as possible before moving the body. When the tide came in everything would be swept away with the water. 

She lifted his arm. Cuts on his forearm, defensive wounds? Bruising and abrasions around the knuckles. “Looks like you put up a good fight.” She looked for fragile evidence that might get lost in transport. A more thorough examination would be conducted once she had him back in the lab. 

“Okay, let’s get him rolled over,” she called over to a tech. He helped her find a grip on the torso, count to three, and roll. 

Ella froze. “Oh no.” Why hadn't she seen it before? The tall frame, black hair?

Lucifer. 

She hadn’t remembered him having a tattoo. 

He lay still as stone on his back, mouth and eyes open. His eyes had already clouded over, grains of sand clung to the pupils. His skin was pale and his lips bluish purple. 

With a determined breath, Ella gripped her camera again, she needed to focus on the work. 

He’d been her friend. She’d to do right by him. A puncture wound marred his left side just below his ribs. Bruising on his face. She documented it all according to procedure. 

She needed to secure his hands and feet in the paper evidence bags to preserve evidence. She needed to…

Ella had to turn away, needing a moment. She instead concentrated on the area around her again. More photos. 

As she turned she spotted the detectives making their way down. Oh shit. How could she have forgotten— Chloe walked beside Dan. Ella ran up to meet them. 

“Chloe,” she put herself between the detective and the body. “Don’t go down there.” 

“Why?” 

“Just, don’t. It’s…” her throat constricted before she could say his name. 

“You aren't making any sense. This is my job Ella, I don't need—”

“When was the last time you saw Lucifer?” Ella blurted out. 

Chloe blinked. “Over a year ago. Ella?” Chloe stepped to the side, leaning to look around. 

Dan saw. Ella saw the set of his jaw as he recognized the former consultant. He placed a hand on her shoulder. “She’s right. Sit this one out.” 

For an excruciatingly long moment, Ella met Chloe’s eyes. 

Chloe’s gaze flicked toward the body. “No. It can’t be. He’s gone. He left.” 

“Chloe-” 

But Chloe had already pushed passed, determined to see for herself. Ella jogged to catch up. “Chloe, I’m sorry.” There was no stopping her. Ella stood at her side as Chloe stared down at the body. Fuck. Why hadn’t she at least closed his eyes? Ella took a deep breath. “I'm going to do everything I can to find out what happened to him. I promise.” 

“Chloe you should-” Dan started but Chloe cut him off. 

“Don’t even try and take me off this case, Dan.” 

“I won’t.” Dan placed a hand on Chloe’s shoulder, Chloe shook him off. 

Ella wanted to hug her. But she had her gloves on. She needed to do her job. They all needed to do their jobs. Hugs would come later. Lots of hugs. 

“He’s not supposed to be here,” Chloe whispered and crouched down. The detective didn’t have her gloves on yet, but Ella didn’t stop her. She knew she should, but… 

Chloe reached out and placed a hand on the body. On Lucifer’s chest.

A movement caught Ella’s eye, something by Lucifer’s hand. 

No. His finger twitched. Gasses in the body did weird things, ATP and… 

But this was different.

The hand moved. The fingers digging into the sand as though searching for a grip. 

“Oh my God.” Ella reached out, placed her hand on Lucifer’s arm. The skin felt warmer than before. She wrapped her fingers around his wrist. 

It couldn't be. 

A pulse. 

But she’d checked. She always checked. The medical examiner had signed off on it. 

Ella shoved Chloe aside and turned Lucifer onto his side. He convulsed and started coughing, liquid expelling from his lungs as he gasped for breath. 

Dan fell backward and stumbled to his feet. “I’m getting the paramedics,” he said and ran up the beach. 

Chloe stared. 

Ella offered a prayer. He was alive. 

Chloe grabbed her arm, roughly pulling her away as Ella struggled. 

“What are you doing? Chloe?” 

“We don’t know if it’s him,” Chloe warned her.

“What do you mean? Of course, it is. We need to-”

“Just wait, please, we need to be sure.” She said, hand already resting on the firearm on her hip. 

“Why?” Everything in Ella screamed to go back to him, he was hurt, couldn’t Chloe see that? 

Lucifer reached out and his hand grasped a fistful of sand, trying to find something solid to hold onto. His mouth opened, trying to form words, but turned into another fit of coughing. 

Ella finally managed to push Chloe off her and returned to his side. “Lucifer,” she said, brushing the hair off his forehead. “We’re here, okay? It’s Ella, and Chloe is here too. Dan is getting help. You’re going to be okay.”

He turned his head, trying to look up at her, squinting against the sun and blinking sand out of his eyes. “Detective?”

That was what it took to draw Chloe back in. “I’m here. Is it you? Really you?” She placed her hand on his cheek. 

He found her hand, holding onto her with a weak grip. “Mon-” he started and then coughed again. 

“What?” Chloe leaned in closer. 

“Monkey-bottoms.” 

Ella frowned. Looking from one to the other. Had the world gone completely insane today? 

But Chloe let out a relieved breath, her other hand going to her mouth trying to suppress a laugh. “Okay. Okay.” She said, tears forming in her eyes. 

“What is monkey bottoms?” Ella whispered. 

“A code word. From years ago. It’s him. It’s really him.” She leaned forward and kissed his forehead. “You’re back. It’s really you.” 

Ella looked back when she heard sirens, and the paramedics arrived, pushing her and Chloe away, strapping Lucifer to a backboard to transport him to the hospital. Chloe stayed as close as she could to him the entire time.


	2. Chapter 2

Chloe stayed by Lucifer’s side in the ambulance and tried not to get in the emergency technician’s way as he worked. 

Lucifer choked and coughed up more water than Chloe had thought possible, spasming in pain as blood started circulating and waking up nerves. All the while, Lucifer reached for her hand, tried to keep her in sight. He struggled against the efforts of the EMS helping him until she held his hand. 

At the hospital, the nurses rushed Lucifer one way and steered her the other. Paperwork. She called Maze, hoping to get his insurance information or health records, anything. No answer. 

Dan arrived not long after. He peeked over her shoulder at the admittance form. "You left his birthday blank." 

Chloe snorted, hardly any of these questions were answerable. 

He tried to be helpful. "Isn't it mid-September sometime? Remember that party he had for himself at the club?" 

"Yeah— yeah, right. Of course." She wrote September thirteenth. And then there was the year. She put down her year of birth. How do you fill out a form like this for someone who pre-dates humanity? 

Then again, he had a fake ID somewhere. She hoped she wasn't screwing up his insurance by filling these out. If he had insurance. Why would he? 

She handed the clipboard to the nurse, unable to fill out more than she already had.

"Shouldn't the next of kin be doing this?" Dan asked.

"What next of kin? He doesn't have anyone else." 

"Amenadiel’s his brother, isn’t he? Are you okay, Chloe?" Dan asked. 

She looked at her ex and felt the pressure build within. Dan, thankfully, knew enough not to say anything. Chloe did what she always did in these situations and re-focused her thoughts on work. 

"What did Ella find at the scene?" 

Dan averted his gaze, his jaw clenched, before turning back to answer. "It looks like he washed up there, that the body— sorry, Lucifer— entered the water at another location. Chloe, you saw. He wasn't breathing when we found him. Has anyone said anything to you about— oxygen deprivation? Did he regain consciousness in the ambulance at all?" 

Chloe nodded. "Yeah. He knew who I was, Dan." 

"The case has been transferred to violent crimes. I'll get you the name of the detective as soon as I know." 

"I need to take some time off." 

Dan didn't protest, but he placed a hand on her knee. "He's been gone a long time. Are you sure?" 

"I'm sure." 

Chloe waited. Dan waited with her. After another hour passed, she went up to the desk. 

"What is the patient's name?" 

"Lucifer Morningstar." 

The nurse receptionist didn't bat an eye, she typed in the name. "Are you a relative?" 

"Fiance. We're engaged." 

The nurse nodded, entered more information. "Thank you, someone will be by to talk to you soon." 

"How is he?" 

The receptionist glanced at her screen. "Someone will come to talk with you soon," she repeated more firmly. 

Chloe felt powerless. There was nothing else to do but go back and wait. Dan sat with her as long as he could, but he needed to get Trixie from the babysitters. A TV mounted in the upper right corner of the room droned on about the weather and the recent drought. Chloe watched the screen without hearing the words until a nurse stepped into the waiting room. “Chloe Decker?” 

Chloe paused at the door of Lucifer’s hospital room. There were six beds, separated by peach color curtains. 

His bed was at the end beside a small window. He lay on dull white sheets, skin pale, dark circles under red-rimmed eyes, and an oxygen mask over his face. IV going into his arm. 

His eyes were open, watching as she walked in. She stood beside his bed, and he looked up at her and plucked the mask off his face, smiling. 

“Detective.” 

His voice still sounded weak, raspy. But that smile… Chloe missed that smile. 

The image of him on the beach flashed through her mind; lips blue, skin mottled purple with collecting blood. Dead.

Chloe squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again, chasing that image away. He was pale, sick, but not… He was here now, that’s all that mattered. 

She didn't step closer. He needed rest. She shouldn’t be here. 

“Do you need me to leave so you can heal?” She tried to sound neutral. Despite knowing that her presence hurt him, she didn't want to walk away. 

He reached out, but he barely had the strength to lift his arm off the bed, “Don’t go.” 

Relief drained the tension from her posture. Chloe nodded and took a tentative step closer. She wanted to touch him so badly, and yet, she held back. “I’ve missed you.” 

His breathing stuttered. “And I, you, Detective.” 

She couldn’t think of anything to say. 

And even now, here she was with him, and she had no idea what she was doing. 

Lucifer seemed just as distracted looking at her. His eyes were so dark, fathomless. How had she ever looked at his eyes and not seen the otherness of them? 

“They told me my fiance wished to see me?” Lucifer asked. 

“Sorry.” Chloe looked away, unable to bear the intensity of his gaze any longer. She glanced toward the hall and the business of the hospital continuing there. “I was worried they wouldn’t let me in to see you otherwise. Sorry.” Even as she said it, she knew she could have claimed it was a police matter, but... 

When she turned back, he smirked, but there was so much uncertainty there it made her ache. “I’m glad you’re here.” 

She stepped into the small space and pulled the curtain closed. It wasn’t the kind of privacy they needed, but at least it gave the illusion of closing themselves off to the rest of the world. 

“Lucifer, what happened? Why-”

He shook his head. “Where is Maze? Have you seen her?”

She sat down on the side of the bed, close enough to whisper. “I’ll find her for you. Are you back to stay? Or?” 

“I don’t know,” he said again, trying to push himself up. He winced and briefly pressed a hand to his side as he gave up and lay back down. “Can we not? Please?” 

“Oh, right. Yes, of course.” She could allow him that much for now. 

There was so much she wanted to say, a year's worth of life to talk about. All of it could wait. Sitting, perched on the side of his bed, felt too far away. Why was it always so hard to bridge the gap between them? She wiggled in closer, mindful of the IV line, and lay down on the edge of the bed. “Is this okay?”

He nodded. “It’s perfect.” 

"I'm not hurting you?"

"No, you're warm." 

His body still felt unnaturally cold against her own, but not like before. Chloe traced a finger along the side of Lucifer’s face. His skin tone had a blush to it now, but some discoloration remained. He turned to look at her again, so close their foreheads brushed together. 

“Chloe, how long has it been?” 

“A year. Don’t you remember?”

He closed his eyes briefly. “I remember the balcony and leaving. Nothing more.” 

Chloe brushed her fingers lightly through his hair. “You need to rest.” 

“I don’t want to.” 

He sounded afraid. Chloe understood because she was scared too. Afraid to lose him again, afraid of what his coming back could mean. What happened to him? Why was he… found the way he was... on the beach? 

“I’m not going anywhere,” Chloe promised. 

She should have known better than to make promises she couldn’t keep. 


	3. Chapter 3

Lucifer’s fingers twitched, and he trailed his hand along the bed covers, searching for his Detective's Hand. She promised she would stay, and he believed her, but the space beside his bed was empty. The other hospital inmates snored as their tired lungs drew closer to their last breaths. 

Dying. He didn't remember dying. But he remembered waking up. 

He remembered trying to breathe and choking. Rough sand against his skin. Harsh sunlight. Tears collected around his eyelids as he’d worked to blink away the grit and blurriness. The chill deep in his bones, spasms and cramps overwhelming his senses with pain.

And now here he was on the receiving end of hospital care. It was not an experience he intended to endure for much longer. 

The curtain enclosed his bed space, but a kink in the fabric opened up to show him no more than a bland gray wall. The window beside his bed looked out over the building’s brick wall beside it—a far cry from the expansive cityscape from his balcony at Lux.

The intravenous tube tugged on his arm as he attempted to sit up, and he glanced at it with disdain. That would have to go. The tube ran up to a pole and a bag of clear liquid. No drugs? What was even the point? 

He sat up, not expecting the sharp stab of pain in his side as he did. Perhaps the Detective wasn’t too far away after all. He breathed through it. Not so bad. The conveniently airy hospital gown allowed easy access to the bandage, he peeled it away to look at the damage. Brown stains dotted the gauze, but his skin was whole again. Stitches crossed where the wound had been, pulling on the surface, but the injury itself had closed. Lucifer ran a finger over the lighter-colored mark left behind. A scar? That wasn’t right. He plucked at the stitches and winced. 

First things first, the tube. Should he peel the tape off first… 

Or just rip it all off at once, which didn’t go as well as he’d hoped. The tape pulled at the hair on his arm, the tube squirted, and blood dripped down his arm. A quick knot solved the first problem, and then he used the threadbare bed sheet to wipe off the rest. 

With that solved, he was free to leave. Sort of. He needed to find the Detective. She had to be nearby. He wouldn’t feel this poorly if she weren’t within close range. 

He stood up, unprepared for how cold the floor felt under his feet. The open-backed gown did little to cover his backside. But, no worries, if this was the issued clothing for this place, then even the Detective couldn’t scold him for walking around partially exposed. It had been the style to wear much less in Greece when he’d visited a while back. 

But he didn’t get far before a nurse caught him, pulling up another short teal gown this time to drape over his back. He smiled at her, “Much better, Luv.” 

“Are you trying to find someone?” 

“Yes.” Now that was helpful for a change. “A detective, about yay-high.” He held his hand up at about his shoulder height. “Blond hair tied back, unsettlingly baggy clothing considering her figure is-”

The nurse ignored him, and matter-of-factly took his wrist and read the plastic bracelet. “Mr. Morningstar, let’s get you back to your bed and settled and then we can-”

“Or not.” He stepped aside to escape her grabby hands. 

The nurse glared. 

“Yes, yes, I’ll come on my own,” he acquiesced and offered a quick smile to demonstrate his willingness to play by the rules. 

It worked, the nurse turned to lead him back. Lucifer stumbled into a laundry cart, deftly knocking it over and spreading soiled sheets and whatnot all over the floor. The housekeeping staff rushed into the hall, inadvertently blocking an older man in a wheelchair who started shouting inventive curses in Armenian, and Lucifer used the chaos to duck into an adjacent room and out of the scuffle.

A phone was what he needed. Then he could call his Detective and get this sorted. 

The room was much better than his own. One bed, a privacy curtain pulled closed around it. 

“Knock, knock?” he asked before sneaking through. 

A middle-aged woman blinked at him from the bed. “Who are you?” She asked, hand automatically reaching for her call button. 

“Hello,” he drawled and glanced at her nightstand, hoping to see a phone. “Do you mind if I just make a quick call?” he asked, edging forward. “I know how this must look-”

“No, I’m not sure you do,” she retorted, sitting up. Her thumb hovered over the button, but she hadn’t pressed it yet. 

“What are you in for?” Lucifer asked, settling on small talk to break the ice. 

“Cancer. You?” 

“I was dead this morning. Don’t worry. I got better.” 

“Good for you.” 

“Yes, isn’t it?” he agreed happily. “Now, if you please?” he pointed at the phone.

“Psyche ward?” She asked him. 

“Only that one time,” he assured her.

“What’s going on out in the hall?” 

“Oh, that?” he peeked out the curtain and hoped they were still too preoccupied to remember him. “Just an overturned laundry cart and an angry Armenian.” 

“Who are you going to call?” 

“My detective. She’s here somewhere, I know she is, and I need to find her.” 

She nodded, “Okay, go ahead.” She passed him her cell phone instead. 

Lucifer sighed with relief. That took much longer to negotiate, but at least this time with a positive result. He reached out and accepted the phone and stared at the screen. 

He knew the number. It should have easily popped into his head. Nothing. Not even the area code. Why nothing? 

“You okay?”

He placed the phone back on the nightstand beside the patient. “I don’t know.” 

“Wanna go for a smoke?” 

He looked at her. Oh yes, a smoke would be lovely. “That isn’t unhealthy for you?”

She laughed. “Too late for that, don’t you think?” 

Fair enough. 

She got out of bed, her body impossibly thin and frail-looking, opened a tiny closet and pulled out a light robe. “You can push my chair.” 

Lucifer waited for her to sit down in the wheelchair and got behind it. 

No one even asked where they were going. The nurse trying to corral him back to his room must have been looking for him elsewhere, and the rest of the staff was too busy to waste time checking on two normal patients out to have a puff. 

“Take this elevator,” the woman directed. 

She leaned forward and pressed the main floor. “We’ll have to go out the side doors. The security will chase you away if you light up at the front. My name’s Chelsea.” 

“Lucifer Morningstar.” 

She chuckled. “Should I be worried?” 

“About consorting with the Devil? Hardly. Souls have never held much interest for me. I’m far more interested in the living.” 

Chelsea tapped out two cigarettes, one for herself, and one for Lucifer, and pulled out her lighter. Lucifer stood beside her chair, ready for the first drag and took a deep inhale, letting it-

He doubled over coughing. Oh for the love of- that hurt. 

Chelsea stared at him, grinning. “You’ve never smoked before?” 

“Of course I have,” he answered indignantly. He cleared his throat and tried again, a shallow puff this time. It was an improvement that he choked just a little. This wasn’t what smoking was supposed to be like at all. It tasted all wrong. 

“Something’s not right,” Lucifer mused out loud, and took another superficial drag. 

“You’re telling me,” Chelsea agreed wholeheartedly. 

“I mean, it hasn’t been a terrible day, considering I was murdered last night. But things could be better, you know?” 

“It’s certainly gotten more interesting for me since I met you.” 

He nodded. “You’ve been very helpful.” 

“Do me a favor?” 

He met her eyes, “What do you desire?” 

“Take me with you.” 

“Where?”

“There’s a coffee shop a block from here. I want a latte.” 

He stubbed out his unfinished cigarette in a tin can beside the door. 

There were a few odd looks directed their way as they walked, but no one stopped them. There were far stranger things on the street than a couple of hospital patients going for a walk. Lucifer’s feet were bare, Chelsea wore sneakers. 

“I’m having a good day, and there’s no way I’m wasting it stuck in that room.” 

“Not quite the presidential suite is it.”

She directed him to Ruby’s Cafe, and he wheeled her inside and to a table where her chair would fit. 

“You look like you’re going somewhere specific, don’t worry about me, they know me here,” Chelsea said, waving him off. 

Lucifer stepped back as a waitress descended upon them, her arms open wide, enveloping Chelsea in a hug. The cook from behind the counter came out as well, looking just as pleased. It was true. Chelsea would be well taken care of here. 

Lucifer’s feet pained him as he walked down the sidewalk. The sense of wrongness increased the further he got from the hospital. If the Detective had been in the hospital building, there was more than enough distance between them by now. 

Perhaps she was following him? Searching for him? He stopped and turned around, looking through the faces around him. His Detective wasn’t one of them. 

He winced as he stepped on a shard of glass and stopped to pick it out of his foot. Blood welled up between the cut skin. Perhaps he should have gone back to his bed in the hospital after all.

But that’s not where he wanted to be. 

He just wanted to go home. 

“Hey man.” 

Lucifer looked up from his spot against the building where he’d sat down. 

“You stay here, and the cops are going to come hassle you,” a young man wearing mossy green baggy pants with too many pockets crouched down beside him. “There’s a shelter not far from here. You know where it is?” 

His mind felt sluggish and couldn’t quite catch onto the purpose of the man’s words. Why would he need shelter? It wasn’t raining.

“I bet we could find you some shoes and clothes, yeah? Maybe call someone to come help you out?” 

Calling someone was a splendid idea. Lucifer moved to stand—why did he feel so tired— surprised when the man grabbed his arm and helped with a firm tug. 

“You on anything?” The man asked. 

“No, not currently.” 

“Good good, there’s a zero-tolerance policy if you intend to stay the night. They don’t care what you do, but don’t bring it to their house, you know?” 

Lucifer nodded and followed along, intently watching the pavement to avoid any more unfortunate run-ins with things that cut. 

“What’s your name?”

“Lucifer.” 

“Cool, cool. It’s LA, I get you.” 

The walk felt much further than a couple of blocks, heading deeper into a desolate area. Most of the shops were closed, garbage was overflowing, and the smell wafted up in the heat, a sickly sweet odor that contaminated everything it touched. 

When they did enter a building, it was through the back, and Lucifer contemplated that perhaps it wasn’t a wise idea to follow a stranger into a back alley garage while inconveniently vulnerable to harm.

The man led him to a plastic chair. Things got kind of hazy after that.

“Hey, did you walk away from the hospital?” 

Lucifer opened his eyes, surprised they’d been closed, and found a large woman in denim overalls staring down at him. “Yes?” he answered. “But I supposed it would have been easier to fly. Why didn’t I?” And, now that he thought about it, that was an excellent idea. He got ready to stand up and felt a hand rest on his shoulder. 

“Fly later,” the older woman answered and reached for his wrist. “Hey, Bruce, give the hospital a shout, let’em know we’ve got one of theirs.”

Ah, the ID bracelet from the hospital. He snapped it off his wrist, wincing as the soft plastic bit his skin leaving an angry red mark behind. The detective was not here. Why was this happening? 

He closed his fingers around the tag before the woman could snatch it. “Not necessary, thank you,” he said. Lucifer rose, despite her objections, and stepped around her. “I appreciate the hospitality, now, if you don't mind, good day.” 

The young man from earlier ran up and grabbed at his arm before he could get too far. “No, wait, at least here, take these.” He shoved a recycled plastic dollar store bag into Lucifer’s arms. Sneakers, a t-shirt and sweat pants. “Cops’ll drag your ass back to the hospital, for sure, if you’re wandering around like that.” 

Lucifer nodded his thanks and left the building. The gift was appreciated though unnecessary, and he discarded the bag among the rest of the refuse. He would fly to Lux. 

He found a relatively secluded spot behind an especially rotten smelling dumpster and rolled his shoulders in preparation. 

And,

He rolled his shoulders again, closed his eyes, and focused. 

Nothing. Not a stir, not a tingle. Someone had stabbed him, had they also— 

He reached an arm around his back, awkwardly reaching. He tore off the gown and reached again. 

There was nothing, no scar. No indication whatsoever that he’d ever had wings. 

And now he was naked, wingless, and vulnerable in a Los Angeles alley. 

Lucifer hastily retrieved the dollar store bag of donated clothing and dressed, not even caring that the fabric smelled of the human who wore it before or that the sneakers were too small. The bottoms of his feet stung, cut with scratches and gravel, even ill-fitting sneakers were a relief. 

His next challenge was to locate Lux. If he could get home, he could fix everything. All he needed was to get home, and everything could go back to normal. 

Slowly, because his feet still hurt despite the trainers, he found his way back to the main road and started the long trudge to the boulevard and Lux. 

It was a strange experience, walking among people and not having their gaze fall on him. No one paid attention, or if they did, they quickly looked away. Was this how ordinary people felt every day? It was liberating in a way he'd never considered before, to be seen as just one of the crowd, not given a second thought. 

It was also bloody inconvenient. 

“Excuse me, yes, you, could you point me toward Lux? The club.” 

He asked five different people before one would even stop to acknowledge he existed. 

The answer he received was less than encouraging. He was on the entirely wrong side of the city. 

Hailing a cab proved just as useless. Dressed like this, even walking out right in front of one resulted only in screeching tires, a long blast of a horn, and a string of curses lobbed his way in a nearly extinct Oceania dialect. 

Which he understood just fine, thank you very much. 

Lucifer responded appropriately, and the driver was so shocked to hear his native tongue he rear-ended the limo in front of him. Just desserts so far as Lucifer was concerned. 

The heat of the day surrounded him. His skin felt sticky and wet even as his mouth grew dry. The snug fit of the trainers, which had been inconvenient but not uncomfortable at first, cramped his toes. 

In the hour he walked, he’d barely covered any ground. His limbs felt heavy and uncoordinated. 

He sat down on a park bench. It would feel better if he brought his feet up. Brushing some dirt off the painted wood, he shifted and lay down on his side. He’d been gone. What had happened to Lux in his absence, was it still there at all? If he closed his eyes for a second, he knew he would feel better. 

“Lucifer?” 

Detective? A hand pushed on his arm, and he startled awake, nearly falling off the bench in confusion. The hand gripped his shoulder, steadying. 

“I got a call that you went missing from the hospital. Why did you leave?”

“You were gone.” 

Chloe pulled him close despite the distasteful clothing he had on, enveloping. “Everything will be okay,” she assured him. “We’ll go back to the hospital, and they’ll check you out, make sure you’re alright.”

“I’m fine, Detective. All better.” He assured her and lifted the edge of the t-shirt to show her the healed scar with the ugly sewn knots still sticking through it. 

“Give me a second,” the Detective said and pulled away. She spoke briefly to a uniformed officer. 

Lucifer reached out, wanting to pull her back, but she returned on her own after a minute.

When she took his hand, he followed, and she led him to her car. 

“Where were you headed?” Chloe asked, holding the passenger door open for him. 

“It only occurred to me later that it’s not mine anymore.” 

“Why would you think that? Of course, it’s yours. Where did you get the clothes?” 

“A charity house. They wanted to call the hospital and send me back.” 

Chloe nodded as she pulled into traffic. The rest of the drive was quiet. Lucifer sat with his head turned toward the Detective, neither willing nor able to keep his eyes off her. 

She turned to him and smiled briefly. “What are you doing?” 

“Memorizing you.”

She took a sudden breath and reached over with her right hand, placing it over Lucifer’s. He looked down at their joined fingers and then back at her. “You don’t need to memorize me. I’m not going anywhere.” 

She parked behind Lux in the narrow alley beside the underground parking. “Oh, I don't have my key for the security door,” she started and paused. “Right, sorry. Why would you need a key?” 

Lucifer grinned, and they walked to the door, he placed his hand on the handle and pushed. 

Only resistance met him in return. Again. He remembered the feel of locks and their inner workings, how they desired to be opened at his touch. He reached deeper within and felt a stirring, but he couldn't tell if it was genuine power or wishful thinking. 

Nothing clicked. Nothing opened. He stepped back, heart pounding. 

“Lucifer?” 

Was it gone? His power failed every time he attempted to draw it forth, his wings were inaccessible, and his body was vulnerable. Could it be? It all started to make sense. “Chloe, there’s something wrong with me.” 

“What is it?” 

“I think I’ve fallen… again, but different. I think I’m mortal-human, or as much as I ever could be.” He suddenly smiled, and he stepped toward her scooping her up in his arms and hugging her tight. 

“Lucifer, you sound like it’s a good thing?”

“Of course it is,” he insisted with a grin. It meant he’d been released from his task. Without divinity, His punishment of reigning Hell was over. It didn’t matter if it had been bestowed as a gift or punishment. It felt like a gift. He didn’t know how or why. Whatever allowed him to return, he didn’t care. He had his detective, and that was all that mattered. Kissing her on the cheek, Lucifer let her go and used the security buzzer. 

The guard came, blinking owlishly. 

“Open up, let me in.” Lucifer demanded, smirking. This was definitely a good day, indeed. “I’d very much appreciate being let into my building.” What was the guard’s name? David? Kevin? 

The man looked incredulous. Lucifer knew it had to be the clothes at fault.

Chloe smiled at the guard and nodded. It was Chloe the guard recognized. Lucifer rolled his eyes impatiently. But, he didn’t care. 

The security guard fumbled for his key and inserted it into the lock and turned, “Should I let everyone know you’re back?”

“Yes, please do.”


	4. Chapter 4

Lucifer and Chloe rode the elevator up to Lucifer’s penthouse. Lucifer’s foot tapped with his excitement to be back home. Yes, home. His Detective, the penthouse, Lux, there was nowhere better than this. 

“One year?” he asked. 

Chloe nodded. “A little over. Fourteen months.” 

“Oh. Have many things changed?” 

She shook her head. “No. No changes.” 

He frowned. No one knew he would be returning. Why hold onto things?

The elevator chimed, and the doors opened. Lucifer stepped out, taking it all in. 

“Has no one been living here?” he asked. 

White sheets covered the furniture. His bar and shelves of alcohol were empty. The silence felt deep and dark.

Lucifer closed his eyes, attempting to shake away whatever tunnel his mind had started spiraling down. 

He tore the sheet off his piano. And there it was. Lucifer stared at it, running his hand along the polished wood. When he looked back at Chloe, she was smiling. 

“Play something?” 

He pulled his hand away and let out a quick breath. “I’m filthy, perhaps after a proper shower. What time is it, Detective? Lux will be opening soon.”

The smile faded. “It’s— not. Lucifer, Lux shut down when you left."

“Closed? Whatever for? No matter. I need to change- and shower. And preferably burn these clothes, they smell abominable,” he diverted quickly and practically ran to his bedroom. 

Chloe trailed behind, but only up to the steps leading to his bedroom. A shower and proper clothing were necessary. Then he would look more presentable and feel more like himself again. 

The cupboards still held his products, his special soap, and shampoo. 

Everything would go back to normal.

But what if it didn’t? 

A year is a long time in human terms. The Detective must have had ample opportunity to move on and find a new person to love, a better person, not a monster, someone she could count on. What if his Detective had found a new normal? One that didn't include him?

He remembered her words as he stood on the balcony. She told him she loved him and not to go. And he left her. He'd made her cry. How long could love be expected to affect humans? It was presumptuous to return after a year and expect her to hold onto those feelings. 

Perhaps she would allow him to return as her consultant? At least that way he could work at her side again. Unless the Detective had a new partner. Chloe had been with Dan on the beach. Were they partners again? Worse yet, were they together-together? 

His friendship with Dan had fallen apart rather spectacularly after dear Charlotte's tragic death. Could that be salvaged?

The longer Lucifer stood in the shower, the longer he could put off the uncomfortable conversation he was sure laid in wait for him. He was mortal, stuck here on earth, his friends had moved on, and he was alone.

"Lucifer? Are you alright in there?" 

He tensed to hear Chloe right outside the bathroom door. "Yes, fine, coming out now." 

"Can I come in?" 

"Yes, no problem." He had no good reason to deny her, did he? He turned off the water as the Detective entered. His heart hammered in his chest. But why? He'd shown himself off to her before, his appearance was a point of pride. He pushed the feeling aside, opened the shower door, and accepted the towel Chloe passed to him. 

He wrapped it around his waist and plucked a hand towel off the shelf to dry off the rest of his body. 

She stared, and he felt distinctly uncomfortable. "We'll have to find someone to get those stitches out," she said softly, looking at the stitches where the stab wound had healed and left a scar. 

"It won't be enough just to use scissors?" 

"Well, if you’re mortal now, sort of, there’s a risk of infection. It would probably be better if a professional did it."

He nodded, right of course. He had no experience in these things, and happily deferred to her judgment. But the sooner he dressed, the more comfortable he'd be. Thankfully all his clothes remained, a protective plastic wrapping being the only addition to prevent dust. 

"Lucifer?" 

The alarm in the detective's voice worried him.

"When did you get a tattoo?" 

He frowned. "I would never-"

She placed a hand on his shoulder, guiding him to turn and trailed her fingers along his back. His skin prickled at the touch, but she tugged him aside, toward the full-length mirror. "Look." 

And yes. There it was. Lucifer craned his neck to see his reflection. The symbols were unfamiliar until he realized the reflection turned them backward. As soon as that little fact registered, he quickly grabbed the first shirt he found off its hanger and pulled it on. "It's nothing. Unimportant." 

"What is it, where’s it from?"

He felt exposed and turned away, unable to look her in the eye. "Half the population of LA has tattoos, why should I be any different?" 

"You didn't know it was there. You don't remember getting it, do you?"

"No, but that's hardly-"

"You know what it is, please, tell me?" 

And he hastily pulled his trousers on and let the towel fall to the floor. Next, socks, where were the socks? 

"Lucifer," the Detective repeated his name, this time catching his arm to get his attention. He stilled at her touch. 

She'd already had his attention. He’d heard every word she said. 

"Why does it matter?" he asked. Socks. There they were. 

"Because we need to find out what happened to you." 

He pulled away and tugged the socks on. "I'm here now, isn't that good enough?"

"Don't you want to know what happened?"

"Not particularly, no." He marched past her out to his bar… where there was nothing to drink. And with Lux closed, he doubted there would be anything drinkable down there either. 

The Detective followed, for which he was both grateful and annoyed. 

"What do you want?" she asked him. 

“Something to drink. How could all my toiletry items have remained but not a drop of whiskey?”

Chloe opened a cabinet to the left, pulled out a bottle and two glasses, and filled them each halfway. “There is more bothering you than just needing a drink. Please, talk to me.”

"I want things to go back to how they were." He looked around and started pulling the sheets off the rest of the furniture. But it wasn't enough. Why couldn't things have just stayed the way they had been? 

When the Detective caught his hand,he stopped. When she pulled him into a hug, he didn’t move. 

Was this an Ella-type hug? Was it a good-bye hug? Was it a lead-in to something more hug? He had no clue, and didn't know how to react- 

"I was afraid I'd never see you again," Chloe said, and he heard the strain in her voice, how her voice wavered. She eased away and took his hand, leading him to the couch to sit down. "Would it be so terrible if things don't go back the way they were?"

And this was it. “If that is what you desire.”

“It is.”

How could everything around him be so still when his entire world was being torn apart. No Lux, no Maze, no Detective. "I understand that a lot of time passed for you, and it's understandable that you've moved on. I've no right to assume you feel the same as you did before. I hurt you when I left." 

Chloe squeezed his hand and Lucifer looked down at her fingers. "You did," she confirmed. 

"Is there any way I can make it up to you?" 

"Don't go away again," she said, and leaned in, touching her lips to his. 

Lucifer’s lips tingled, his heart raced painfully in his chest. 

He slowly raised his hand to the Detective's shoulder, touching her long hair with the palm of his hand, trailed his fingers through the strands. His hand trembled. He wanted this. Even if it was the end. He would do his best for her, be his best for her. How many strangers had he given the best night of their lives to? He could do so much for more for the Detective, for Chloe. He would give her everything she wanted and more.

She’d said she didn’t want to go back to how things were. Was this a way to say good-bye?

Chloe shifted on the couch, bringing her knees up and kneeling over him, straddling his lap. He leaned back, content to respond to whatever she wanted. 

Her hands worked at his shirt buttons, and then moved lower to her his belt and trousers. 

Lucifer breathed deeper, frozen as her hands pushed under his shirt, caressing his skin along his sides and back. 

She trailed kisses across his face, to his neck and collar bone. 

His heart pounded fiercely. This was what he wanted. His chest hurt, felt like it might explode. 

He wanted the detective not just once, but for eternity.

“Please, stop,” he whispered, barely able to make any sound at all. 

“Did i hurt you?”

“No, but you will.”

She climbed off him immediately. “I don’t understand.”

“I don’t want to lose you.”

“What part of this makes you think you’re going to lose me?”

“You said you don’t want to go back to how things were.”

“I don't. I don't want to go back to being just friends. I want us to be together, or at least try.”

"Does this," he asked breathlessly, "Mean you still have feelings for me?" 

"Yes, and you?" 

"That will never change," he groaned out and wrapped his arms around her, holding onto her hips as he leaned forward and stood up, her weight barely registering as he carried her to the bedroom and lay back onto the bed, keeping Chloe on top. 

She pressed against him, grinding slowly against his hips and he arched his back, wanting more. 

And then her fingers brushed his side where the stitches pulled at the skin and the new scar had formed, and he felt a sharp pain, like fire consuming him from within, like falling, and then cold, being unable to breathe-

But at the same time his Detective was with him, her lips on his, hungry and wanting, and he was eager to give her anything she wanted. 

He tried to push the pain and disturbing visions aside, to focus only the pleasure of the moment. 

And yet he felt so cold, water pressing in on all sides, sinking, choking and drowning. 

"Stop," he whispered, unable to suppress the panic. 

He felt the weight lift, a worried voice that he couldn't understand was muffled past the rushing in his ears. 

He pressed his hand against his side, was that blood on his hand? He gasped for breath expecting to inhale a lung full of water, but it was just air. 

Slowly the ghost sensations faded and reality refocused. The Detective knelt beside him. “Lucifer?”

He stayed on his side, curled up protectively until he brought up his hand, expecting to see blood. There was none. 

"What happened? Are you hurt?" 

"No, It wasn’t real."

She shifted beside him, sitting up straighter. "What isn’t real?" 

"They weren't memories, just feelings." He sat up, feeling tired and worn out, his chest still sore from the sensation of not breathing. But he could breathe, he was breathing just fine.

Could they pick up where they left off? He could trust that this was something she desired because she initiated it. 

He leaned forward and brushed his lips against her, hoping to lure her back into the moment. TheDetective stopped him. 

"Are you sure you're up for this right now?" she asked. 

"You want this," he murmured and kissed her again. 

"No, no, wait," she pulled back. "Is this what you want?" 

He blinked, he wanted it, didn’t he? 

"How about we rest instead," she offered.

And that sounded lovely too. They lay facing each other, Lucifer stared at Chloe’s face. 

“You’re doing it again,” Chloe whispered.

“Doing what?” 

“Staring at me like you’re afraid you’ll go away again.” 


	5. Chapter 5

Lucifer woke up to hear the detective speaking quietly on her phone in the living room. He stretched and started doing up his buttons.

Fully dressed, though rumpled, he emerged from the bedroom. Chloe smiled when she saw him, and hastily said good-bye on the phone. 

"Feeling better?" Chloe asked, placing the phone screen-down on the bar counter.

"Spiffy," he said, attempting to sound cheery. The windows were dark. Lucifer didn't know how long he'd slept. Long enough for the sun to go down, a few hours at least. "Are you hungry? They’ve taken my alcohol, and there isn’t much hope for the kitchen any better. Take out is an option, you like Greek, don’t you? Zenovia is still in business, I hope. I'm sure there's cash in here somewhere." 

He headed to the safe in the wall, opened the cover, and hovered his finger over the code. And it was the same as with the telephone—the numbers. 

He couldn’t have forgotten. His fingers shook as he made a fist. 

“Lucifer?” Chloe came up from behind and placed her hand on his shoulder. 

"I can't remember the code." 

He hated the look of concern on the Detective's face.

“It’s okay,” she reassured him as Lucifer stood and paced the room. 

“No, it is not okay." He automatically turned to the bar before recalling it was empty. He spun back to her, wishing he could tell her everything was fine, that he was fine and there was nothing wrong with him. But he couldn't. He wasn't. 

"This isn’t the first thing I’ve forgotten. I don’t forget things, Detective. At the hospital today, I wanted to phone you. It isn’t that I didn’t try. I couldn’t. I don’t remember your phone number.” 

“Lucifer, that doesn’t mean anything.” 

“But that’s not all. You already know I can’t remember how I came back, how I ended up with a stab wound in my side and lungs full of water. I don’t remember anything after our last parting on the balcony. I don't know where Maze is.” Not knowing what happened to Maze worried him the most. 

“I sure she’ll get back as soon as she can.” Chloe stepped up to him again, and he stilled as she ran a hand down his arm. “Whatever happened to you, its got to be disorienting, give yourself some time to recover. The only thing that matters is you’re here now. You said that.”

“What if I’m wrong?”

“You aren’t. You’ve been through a lot. Come home with me.”

“Your apartment?”

“Yes, I think you shouldn’t be alone for now.” 

He may as well. Lux was closed, Maze was missing. If he stayed here, he would be alone. He didn’t want that. 

Chloe tugged on his hand. “I’ll help you pack some clothes.” 

At least his clothing remained untouched. Lucifer selected a few things to make-do for a couple of days. How long was the Detective planning to house him? A night? Chloe’s apartment would be one of the first places Maze would look for him. It should be long enough to hire someone to sort things out at the penthouse and make it livable. He needed to find his ledger and work on getting Lux up and running again. 

Lucifer caught a glance at his reflection in the mirror and found it hard to look away. He stepped closer, looking at his face. Was this how he’d always looked? Were there flaws? Cracks in his mask? Could everyone see them? His eyes, was one larger than the other, or more angled? Too symmetrical? 

“Hey,” Chloe caught his arm, turning him away from his reflection and towards her. “Are you still with me?” 

“Yes.” 

…

Lucifer cringed as Trixie squealed and ran up to hug-tackle him at the door. She was bigger than she’d been, reminding him how children grew at an alarming rate. Her head now reached up to his chest. 

“You’re back,” she jumped on the spot and then looked back to the living room, “Dad! Lucifer’s back. And he’s moving in.” 

"Visiting," Lucifer corrected the girl quickly. He raised his eyebrows in alarm as he looked to Chloe. “You’re back together with Dan?” 

Chloe shook her head. “No, he’s watching Trixie.” 

“Lucifer?” Dan stared at him, eyes wide, suspicious. "You should be back in the hospital. Chloe, what were you thinking?”

“He can’t stay in the hospital,” she said quietly. “He’s doing okay, I promise.” 

But Dan wasn’t done. “Lucifer, why did you take off in the first place? You had everyone worried sick. But, damn. Its good to see you again,” Daniel said, offering his hand. 

Lucifer reciprocated, they shook hands. It was all very cordial. There was no bravado to the handshake, no test of strength. It was just polite, which was odd, because he remembered being on distinctively worse terms with Chloe's ex.

“You’re looking better,” Dan greeted him. 

“It’s hard to look worse than dead,” Lucifer responded blithely. 

“Dead?” Trixie squeaked. 

“No,” Chloe answered quickly. “There was just—”

“I am very much alive,” Lucifer cut in. “A slight misunderstanding, that was all, and I feel much better now.” 

Trixie looked from her mom to Lucifer, eyes full of excitement. “Like a zombie?” 

“No,” Chloe said, voice louder than before. “No, Trixie, could you check the guest bedroom, make sure there are clean sheets?” 

The girl ran upstairs, excited to prepare the room if it meant Lucifer was staying over. 

And Dan just continued to stare at him as though looking at a ghost. Or zombie. 

“Just a misunderstanding, Daniel,” Lucifer said again. “See, feel for yourself. I’ve got a pulse and everything.” He held out his hand. 

Daniel shied away from physical contact, cleared his throat, and crossed his arms over his chest. He looked like he was backing off from a particularly disgusting slug. Lucifer glanced down at his arm, had the discoloration returned? No. His skin seemed perfectly healthy. Could Daniel see the corruption within him?

Lucifer wanted to make things right. He could still fix things, couldn't he? Trixie had explained to him long ago that sometimes when boys don't know how to tell someone they like them, they tease instead. For all his douchy-ness, Daniel had been the only male acquaintance he could call a friend, and he missed that camaraderie. 

Though his campaign of teasing had failed to bring positive results in the months following Charlotte's death, Lucifer fell back on what he knew to try and lighten the mood. “You have my word, Daniel. I am not a zombie. There will be no biting.” Lucifer grinned. “Unless Chloe wants me to.”

Chloe shoved her elbow into Lucifer’s ribs.

“Look,” Dan said, stalwartly ignoring Lucifer’s jab, "What I meant was, you looked in rough shape this morning. Seriously, we should talk about this. Have you given your statement? Do you know who stabbed you?" 

Chloe stepped in between them, "Dan, he doesn't remember anything about being attacked. The case belongs to violent crimes. We're going to meet with Detective Jacobs tomorrow." 

Lucifer rolled his eyes at the shop-talk and plunked his suitcase down and moved past Chloe and Dan and into the kitchen. Where was it the Detective kept the alcohol? The good stuff he kept stashed at her place for when he came over. Unless she finished it or had it removed… 

Oh, there it was, right where he left it on the top shelf. Out of reach of the urchin, of course, but there were advantages to being tall. Glasses were right where they should be. He'd have to figure out what happened to his flask or buy a new one eventually. 

The anticipation of the first sip nearly rivaled the actual thing and he tossed it back ready to enjoy the delicious taste...

And nearly choked. The liquid burned and set Lucifer’s eye’s watering. He only just managed to set the glass on the counter without spilling it everywhere. 

Both Chloe and Dan were at his side in moments, Chloe with her hand on his back, worried for him again, and Dan pouring him a glass of water. 

"Drink this," Dan shoved the glass in Lucifer's hand, and he gratefully swallowed it down, easing some of the burning in his throat. 

"What he hell was in there?" Dan asked Chloe as he picked up the glass, sniffing it. 

"Whiskey. It hasn't been touched."

Dan took a tentative sip. "Yeah, it's fine. What happened, you're acting like you've never drank before?"

Lucifer finished drinking the water and then reached again for the whiskey glass, this time sipping it slowly. 

Chloe stepped in again. "He's still recovering."

"Maybe I should stick close by, sleep on the couch." Dan offered.

"I'm not a threat, Daniel." Lucifer insisted, feeling tense at the insinuation. 

"I didn't say you were. But if something happens, if you relapse, or who knows what, and you end up having to go back to the hospital, after all. Chloe, Trixie could stay with me tonight—”

"I just wasn't expecting the alcohol to be as strong as it is," Lucifer said, but he knew that wasn’t true even as the words came out. The alcohol wasn’t the problem.

Chloe looked from Dan to Lucifer. “Yeah, maybe taking Trixie for a sleep-over at your place is a good idea.” she agreed and called to Trixie up the stairs. 

The girl came running. “I had to change the sheets. They smelled dusty, and no one has slept in here since Maze moved out.”

“Thanks, monkey. You’re going to go with your dad tonight.”

“But I want to visit with Lucifer,” the girl pleaded. 

“Another time. I promise. But he’s really tired, and you aren’t going to have a chance to visit tonight anyway. Okay?”

The girl’s lips thinned and she looked away. “Okay, I’ll go pack my stuff.” 

“Will you be okay getting Trixie to school?” Chloe asked, and they spent a few minutes discussing the particulars of the overnight visit. Lucifer let his attention waver and looked around the apartment. The wall decorations had changed. The child’s art had improved. There were no more crayon drawings, everything was colored pencil or marker. Fantasy creatures. He wandered over to the wall, looked at one in particular of the devil. The marker drawing depicted a red devil, wings like a bat, long forked tail, and horns. But the devil wasn’t in Hell. This devil was standing on a green hill with a yellow sun above him. 

Trixie came out of her room and stood beside him. “I’m glad you came back,” she said quietly. 

“What do I look like to you?” 

Trixie tilted her head slightly. “Like you always have. You won’t have to leave again, will you?” 

“I hope not.” 

Trixie hugged him again, and this time Lucifer didn’t pull away or tense. 

Chloe thanked Dan for taking Trixie, she hugged her daughter and stood at the door as they left. 

“I would never hurt her, I hope you know that,” Lucifer said, watching them go.

Chloe closed the door, turned, and hugged him close. 

Lucifer wasn’t sure what he’d done. “Detective?” 

She held on tighter, and he heard her sniff, but she let go and cleared her throat. “I know you won’t hurt her. I’m just. I’m glad we’ll have some time alone together. That’s all. Let’s take your stuff upstairs.” 

He picked up his suitcase and followed. Chloe led him to the guest bedroom, but he wasn’t sure what to do. Should he unpack? Chloe decided for him. He stood back as she opened his bag and started hanging his clothes up in the closet, setting his toiletries on the dresser. Was this real? Thinking back, the entire day seemed otherworldly, as though the events had taken place in the realm of Dream rather than here in Los Angeles. 

Please, no. But now that he’d thought it, the possibility wouldn’t leave his mind. What if?

She finished and then turned to him, hands on her hips. "You're keeping something from me. I want to know what." 

"I—" If this was a dream, he didn’t want it to end. But all dreams had endings. If he was going to wake, he wanted to make sure he got a chance to say what he needed to first. “I’ve missed you so much,” he said, voice breaking. His chest ached. There were so many things he wanted to say.

She hesitated, stepped forward, and took his hand. “I missed you too, but you’re not escaping my question that easily. Lucifer, what are you hiding?” 

“Nothing.” On second thought, if he was going to wake up, now might be a good time. 

"Does it have to do with the tattoo?"

"Why would you think that?" 

Chloe sat on the bed beside him. "I know you well enough by now to recognize when you're upset." 

He nodded, "Of course you do. You’ve always been very perceptive." 

"What is it Lucifer? Please let me help you with this. We've wasted so much time hiding things from each other, let’s be on the same team." 

Lucifer took a shaky breath and shoved his hands into his pockets. "And if what I tell you drives you away from me?"

"It won't."

What if this wasn't a dream, what if it was a hell loop? Would he tell Chloe the truth, only to have her reject him? Replaying the same scenario over and over? 

"No more sudden vacations to the Vatican?" 

She winced, "Are you going to tell me you actually are a zombie? Any sudden urge to eat brains?" 

"No, at least I don't think so. You were correct about the symbol on my back setting me ill at ease. It is the signature of Samael." 

"What does that mean?"

"I'm not sure," he said slowly. "Or rather, I'll need Amenadiel's help to know for certain. If there are flaws, we'll know it is a fake, and though disturbing, it is no worse than any other random tattoo. If it is my own, then…" he trailed off and Chloe squeezed his hand. 

He didn't deserve her support. He let her go and walked across the room to place distance between them, he didn't think he could bear it if she reacted with disgust to his touch. "I maybe have been hasty in my declaration of mortality. If the signature is real, that means I put it there myself—or rather, the real Lucifer did." 


	6. Chapter 6

Lucifer stood still, tense, and expecting the worst, and Chloe knew now was the time to tread carefully. She didn't want to discount his fears, but she didn't want to re-enforce them either. 

"Lucifer, you are you. You have your memories; you know things no one else could know." 

He looked up at the ceiling, hands coming out of his pockets and fiddling with his shirt cuffs. "But what of the things I don't know? You're phone number and the code to the safe in the penthouse. The real Lucifer would know these things." 

"I thought you said the only thing that matters is that you're back?" 

"That's the thing! I’m not back, and whatever this is," he gestured to himself, "Isn't me!" 

Chloe stepped up to him again, placing her hand on his arm. "It's been a long day. I'll call Linda later—"

"Why do you assume I need to talk to my therapist?"

"Because that's what you've done in the past and it seems to help." 

"No amount of talking about feelings is going to help if I'm not who I am." 

Chloe nodded, "And we aren't going to jump to any conclusions until we know more about what happened to you. Tell me more about the tattoo."

"It's not unlike the human use of signatures, something that proves identity. We all have one, and it is impossible to make a false representation unless you're Dad." He raised his eyebrows. "He could have done it. Wouldn't that be just like Him? Setting me free from the punishment he foisted on me just to brand me with this? A permanent reminder of what I am, and that no matter what I do I'll always be—"

"Slow down," Chloe interrupted. "That's one possibility. Are there others?" 

"Well, I certainly couldn't have put it there. I can’t reach. Unless I'm not me. And then—"

"Tell me what it's for," Chloe stopped him again. "When you put your signature on something, what does it do?" 

"Any number of things depending on the purpose. A mark of ownership, protection, or possession. Anyone who dares disturb someone bearing my sigil is guaranteed to suffer my wrath. The symbol has power, Detective." 

"So maybe it's there to keep you safe?" 

"What would be the point of doing that to myself? A sigil like this it binds a body to its creator. And if that’s the case, I shouldn't be able to be here talking to you." He started to pace again. "Or be capable of even having such thoughts."

None of that was anything she understood. "Explain what you mean." 

"What if I'm a simulacrum. A creature, not even a creature, a vessel formed for one purpose; to carry out the will of its master. They are a mockery of life and have only the most rudimentary of consciousness if any at all. Nothing good ever comes of these things. " 

Chloe caught his hand. "And we can rule that out because you're obviously talking and conscious," she wrapped her fingers around his.

"Oh and being branded by Dad to be his plaything is so much better," he tried to pull away but Chloe didn't let him go. 

"We need to focus on the things we can control." 

He kept his thoughts to himself. “Agreed. But, I fear this body may still be recovering, and I am fatigued.” 

Chloe followed him upstairs to the guest room. There was so much more she wanted to ask him, but she held back. She wanted to do this right, and for the moment, that was to give Lucifer space. He probably just needed time to adjust to being back. That was all. 

…

They went to Linda's home in the morning. Lucifer sat fidgeting in the passenger seat of Chloe's car staring out the window as they drove. 

"What are you nervous about?" 

Lucifer glanced at her and then quickly looked away. "Maybe it's not a good idea to talk to Dr. Linda yet. What do I even have to say to her? I don't remember anything." He stared down at his hand, the one with the missing ring. "Call her, we can go back to your apartment or to the precinct. I need to speak to someone at Lux to get the club running again. Or Maze, do you know where Maze is?" 

"If you don't want to talk to her as your therapist, then we can visit as friends. Charlie is over a year old now." 

She grinned at the face he made. 

"I don't have to touch him do I?" 

"Not if you don't want to. He'll probably want to touch you, though."

"Does he talk yet?" 

"I've heard him say Maze. It comes out more like Moz, but we all know what he means." 

He released a laugh. "Just wait until she starts to teach him Lilim. I had trouble pronouncing Mazikeen's full name when I first learned and ended up calling her Maze. The name stuck." 

"She taught you Lilim?" 

He cleared his throat. "What else can the child do?" 

"He's walking. Likes to climb everything." 

"That's it?" 

"Well, he's a baby. They don't do much. You'll see." 

"Your offspring could already do all those things when I first met her, is there something wrong with him?"

"And she was older. Lucifer, do you really have no experience with children at all?" 

"What do you think?" 

"Uhm, no." She concluded as she pulled into Linda's driveway, glad she'd been able to distract him enough to reach their destination. 

Amenadiel came out of the house as she exited the vehicle, and Lucifer sagged with relief. “It is good to see you, brother,” Amenadiel stated. "Linda is waiting for you."

Lucifer placed his hand on his brother’s shoulder. "If I could speak with you first." 

Amenadiel nodded, leading them inside and walking with Lucifer to another room to speak privately. Lucifer paused and looked back at Chloe before closing the door. 

Linda glanced from the closed door to Chloe, offering a weak smile. "Does this mean everything is settled, you know, down there?" she asked, eying the floor meaningfully and then looking back up.

"Maybe. There hasn't been any 'cult' activity since the incident at the Mayan." 

Linda licked her lips and sighed. "You're not sure. That means," she looked hard at Chloe, eyes steady and unflinching. "There's something wrong isn't there?" 

"There's a lot I didn't tell you when I called you last night. Yesterday was… we found him on the beach. Dead." Chloe came and sat beside Linda. "I'm worried. There's a lot that isn't right here. Whatever happened to him was bad, but he doesn't remember anything." 

"Dead, as in, dead-dead? Is that possible?" 

Chloe nodded. "I saw Linda, there was no mistaking it. And then he woke up." 

"And how is Lucifer coping?" 

Chloe shrugged. "Between moments of denial and questioning reality—" 

She stopped when a large crash sounded from where Lucifer went to talk to Amenadiel. Chloe jumped up and was moving toward the door when it burst open and Lucifer stumbled out, his shirt unbuttoned and askew, in the process of putting it back on. Chloe sidestepped and caught his arm just in time. 

"We are nothing alike," Amenadiel shouted, following close, fists clenched and ready to strike again. 

Chloe stepped between, confident Amenadiel would hold back if she was in the way, she hoped. 

Amenadiel lowered his fists but he did not stand down. "How dare he? Lucifer knows such beings are unstable. _Dangerous_." 

Linda stepped in, also getting between Amenadiel and Lucifer. "Amenadiel, stop, and explain. What is going on?" 

"That creature only appears to be my brother, it is an impostor." He stopped as Linda placed a hand on his arm, but glared at Lucifer. "Worse than an impostor, an abomination against our Father, against nature and creation." 

"Enough," Chloe yelled and glanced at Lucifer. He hadn’t disagreed.

"Stay away from this house and from my son," Amenadiel stepped forward, dragging Linda with him as she attempted to hold him back.

"Stop. First of all, this is _my_ house," Linda interrupted. "And you do not get to choose who is or is not welcome. Lucifer is staying. Amenadiel get out." 

"You don't understand the threat this creature is. You must distance yourself from it."

"Out now," Linda ordered again, stomping her foot this time for emphasis. 

Amenadiel calmed, stepped back, and cast a worried glance at Linda. "Can I come back inside after?"

Linda sighed. "Yes. For now, please just leave."

Amenadiel calmed further and nodded. "I will take Charlie to play outside in the back yard and remain close enough to intervene should the necessity arise." 

Chloe reached over and grabbed Lucifer's wrist to ensure he wasn't going to slink out as well. "Are you okay?" she asked him. 

He wouldn't look her in the eye. "He's right." He rose his hand to cover the bruise blossoming on his cheek. 

"I doubt it," Chloe muttered and tugged to pull him further into the room. 

Linda recovered her composure and shook off the momentary shock. "Lucifer, sit down, Chloe, could you go get some ice in the freezer?" She asked and Chloe looked from one to the other, and nodded reluctantly. 

Alone in the kitchen, Chloe leaned against the counter and took a deep breath. Could Amenadiel be correct? Was Lucifer not… Lucifer? And if he wasn't, where was the real Lucifer. Why were there two of them?

Why didn't anything make any sense? 

She found a dishcloth and scooped some ice into it. Out the kitchen window, she could see Amenadiel crouched on the grass while Charlie unsteadily teetered around in the grass, and she felt guilty to be relieved he hadn't gone far. 

But, Lucifer, or whoever it was, was waiting in the other room for his ice. 

She took a breath, squared her shoulders, and walked back in. 

Whatever Lucifer had been saying, he stopped when she re-entered the room. He leaned back in the chair and focused his gaze on his lap. Chloe felt her heart thump heavily in her chest and stepped closer, close enough to reach out and pass the cloth filled with ice to him. 

"Thank you, Detective," he said quietly, voice neutral, as he reached out to meet her halfway, their fingers did not brush as he took hold of the bag. He contemplated it a moment before holding it up to his face. 

"I'm going to—" she started and halted, looking back toward the kitchen. "I'll go visit with Charlie while you two talk." 

Linda nodded. "That's a good idea. Will you be coming back after?" 

Chloe hesitated, not understanding at first, and then realizing that Linda was giving her an out. That she had a choice to stay or to leave without Lucifer. "Yeah. Yeah, we're headed to the precinct after this. To meet with the violent crimes detective. Lucifer needs to give a statement." 

Lucifer glanced up a before looking away again, and she smiled tightly before turning and retreating back into the kitchen. Chloe paced. Looked out the window. Paced some more. Looked out the window again. 

What Amenadiel said about Lucifer being a threat, she couldn’t let that go without finding out what he meant. She slid open the patio door and stepped out onto the back deck. Amenadiel stood abruptly, his posture stiff and shoulders back, on the offensive. 

"Is there a problem." 

"No." Chloe gently closed the door behind her and came out further, sitting on the steps down to the grass where Charlie was playing with a big softball. "I mean, yes. I need to know what you meant about Lucifer not being himself."

"Chloe, I'm sorry you have been deceived. I realize this may be difficult for you to comprehend, but that is not Lucifer."

She struggled to get control of her breathing. "Is he a threat?" 

Amenadiel came to stand beside her, and they both watched the toddler playing in the grass. "Yes, such creatures are unstable."

"What is he?"

"They've been known by different names through the ages, but in essence, it is an artificial representation of a living being. They are soulless, mindless vessels, animated by magical means to carry out its master's commands."

Chloe glanced back at the house. "But he isn't mindless. He's got Lucifer's memories, his personality. He knows things only Lucifer would know." 

Amenadiel nodded. "It does possess some level of self-awareness, but that only makes it all the more dangerous. It may seem harmless now, but such creatures are a threat to everyone around them." 

"How?"

"They can not reconcile the truth of their existence. Eventually, they rebel against their masters, turn violent."

"Why is he here? You said you think Lucifer, the real Lucifer, sent him?"

Amenadiel shrugged. "It's just the kind of idiotic foolhardy trick my brother would do." 

"You think he wants to trick us? Why?" 

"Because the Devil thrives on sowing chaos."

"You know that's not fair. Lucifer had a life here, he sacrificed everything."

“A sacrifice that would not have needed to have been taken if he had not shirked his responsibilities in the first place. This creature bears Lucifer's sigil, my brother had a hand in making it. The gates of hell are closed to me. Perhaps he has gone back to his old ways, or his time in Hell has made him resentful and he is taunting us."

"He wouldn't do that." 

"You've known him how long? A handful of years? I have known Lucifer since the beginning of time. This is, unfortunately, more in keeping with my brother's character than you're aware." 

Chloe shook her head. "Or maybe you don't know him as well as you think you do." She closed her eyes, fighting back the sting of tears. 

Charlie toppled over and started to cry, and Amenadiel was immediately at the boy's side to pick him up. "A simulacrum is a thing, not a person. By its very nature, it will suffer, and bring suffering unto others. It needs to be destroyed." 

Chloe stood up, "Stay away from him," she said finally. 

Back inside she helped herself to a glass of water. Her hand shook as she raised the glass to her lips. She couldn’t let Lucifer see her like this. 

"Hey," Chloe re-entered the living room. Linda had her mouth open, mid-sentence, and gestured for her to sit down. 

"Chloe," Linda said, and Chloe was sure if she wanted to she could read a thousand things into that one word. "Would you like to join us?" 

"No, we're leaving." 

Lucifer stood up, and she noticed he kept his distance from her. 

"We'll talk later?" she asked Linda. 

Linda nodded. "Call me. Please." 

Chloe wasn't sure which of them Linda was addressing. Maybe both? 

It didn't matter. She needed to get Lucifer away from here, away from Amenadiel. Chloe headed for the door and Lucifer took a step as though to follow but held up short. "Detective?" 

"Come on, I don't want to be late." She urged him, there was no set appointment time, but it wasn't technically a lie.

"Yes," he said slowly and tentatively followed. "Right. Thank you, Doctor," he called back to Linda.

Linda stood at the door, watching them go, and Lucifer made it as far as the car, before hesitating again. 

"Are you sure you want me with you?"

"Get in," Chloe said and waited. This was Lucifer. How could he not be? 

He opened the passenger side door and sat inside. And she took her seat at the wheel. She didn't say anything more. 


	7. Chapter 7

The drive to the precinct was silent. Lucifer played with the power window, moving it up and down until Chloe used the child lock control to keep it closed. He danced his fingers nervously on his leg. He was wrong, damaged, corrupted.

He tried to keep as much space as possible between him and the Detective. He saw how she'd reacted, and who could blame her? There was no explanation for what he was. Amenadiel confirmed it. These creatures did not end well. He was fridge horror and Frankenstein's monster rolled into one.

He ran a finger along the dash and ended up staring at his hand. His hand… not his hand. It was just a thing. Not real. His thoughts were just as counterfeit as his memories. He never did any of the things his traitorous mind kept insisting he did. He didn't kiss the Detective on the beach or play monopoly with her and her offspring. That was someone else. And he, well, he was something else.

Chloe reached over and wrapped her fingers around his hand, and he only then realized he was still holding it up and staring at it. The contact startled him, he flinched, but she held on, her fingers curling around his.

How could she stomach touching him? She didn't know him, and she had no idea who or what he was. Why had she even allowed him into her car?

It must have been because she didn't understand the nature of the monster beside her. She didn't know. Such creatures were only legends in the modern world, no more than stories.

Lucifer glanced at her quickly before looking away again. He had no right to be near her or look at her. He couldn't abide his presence to be close to her any longer. "You wouldn't do this if you understood."

"Do what?"

"This game you're playing, pretending everything is okay. You spoke to Amenadiel. Certainly, he explained what I am."

"No games, Lucifer. And yes, Amenadiel did try to warn me away from you."

"You should heed his warning, Detective. We both know what I am now. There's no denying it."

"What are you?"

He rolled his eyes. Either the Detective was being deliberately dense or toying with him. He wasn't fond of either option. "You may drop me off anywhere, here is fine. I'll find my way."

Chloe gripped the steering wheel so tight her knuckles turned white. "Find your way where?"

"To do what needs to be done. I need to make things right."

She pulled over, and Lucifer had his hand on the door handle when she placed her hand on his arm. "Don't you dare leave this vehicle."

"Detective?"

"I didn't stop so you can get out. I stopped so I can look at you while I say this. You're staying by my side, where I can keep an eye on you. I don't care what Amenadiel thinks you are. And you're not to do anything you think needs to be done without consulting me about it first,"

He looked down as her fingers encircling his wrist.

"Lucifer, give me your word. Before you do anything, you'll talk to me first."

"Anything encompasses a lot. Do you want me to inform you when I decide what type of sandwich to eat? Or which loafers to wear?"

"Look who's playing games now."

"Apologies, Detective." Of course, she'd want to keep an eye on him. Amenadiel had warned her what such abominations were capable of. He knew he could trust her judgment. The Detective was more than capable of prioritizing the greater good over her personal feelings.

"Nothing has changed," Chloe said.

"Hasn't it?"

"There is still an investigation. Someone tried to kill you. If you weren't who you are, they would have succeeded. And hopefully, we'll find some answers about why your here and who—"

"You mean what."

"We don't know anything for certain."

"We know I'm not who I think I am."

"We don't." she insisted. "I felt someone try to tell me who and what you are once before. I ignored my instincts. I won't do that again. You're still you."

Lucifer didn't know how to respond to that. He couldn't accept it as easily as Chloe could. He knew just as well as Amenadiel did how dangerous such abominations could be. "Maze. Maze must have been there. At first, I worried about what may have happened to her. But perhaps she was the one who tried to do away with me."

"It wasn't her. I haven't been able to get in contact with her yet, but she hasn't been to LA in months."

"Months? How is that possible? How long has she been back?"

"She didn't go back with you."

"No. that's not… I returned to Hell, of that I'm certain. I wouldn't have left without her."

He couldn't imagine leaving Maze behind. But this was a good development. It meant Maze was safe. Maze was here. Maze would come and she wouldn't hesitate to do what was needed. No need to place the burden on the Detective's shoulders.

"Do you think she'll be able to help you?" Chloe asked, interrupting his thought.

"Yes, I'm certain of it." A fissure of fear went through him. The urge to exist burned within him and he had to quench it. That was the downfall of these creatures, like him, their desire to be autonomous. No good ever came of it.

The Detective looked at him with squinty eyes, but she moved on. "When we meet with Sandra Jacobs, the Detective in violent crimes, stick to the facts. Until we know more about what is going on with you—"

"You'll keep an eye on me." He finished for her.

She nodded and started up the car again. "I'm glad we're on the same page."

…

There were strange looks and confused greetings as he entered the precinct at the Detective's side. Joe, from narcotics, shook his hand and slapped him on the shoulder while casting a side-eye at Chloe. Vanessa from accounting winked.

Could they tell? He followed Chloe through the crowd, were there always so many people here? Were his memories corrupted? Could his memories be trusted at all? Were these merely the memories his creator wished him to have?

His head ached, and his skin itched with awareness, the lights were too bright, and the sounds converged and blended into just one thrumming—

Vaguely, he was aware of being steered through the precinct and putting on the act of behaving the way he was supposed to, greeting old acquaintances, exchanging innuendos, smiling when expected to. Was it reasonable to function while falling apart inside, or was that an element of his design as well? Did he have any control over his actions at all?

"Are you still with me?" Chloe asked.

They stood in a hall, alone, everything was quiet around them, but Lucifer's thoughts were still so loud he felt like he could barely hear her. "Yes, Detective. Of course."

Chloe regarded him for another long moment and knocked on a plain door.

"This isn't the interrogation room."

"You're not being interrogated," Chloe reminded him.

This whole meeting was a farce. The investigating Detective already knew more than he did about the incident.

A woman in her early fifties answered the door. She wore plain business clothes, inexpensive but tasteful, he liked the plumb colored blouse under her gray jacket and the scent of her perfume wasn't that the one Maze— 

"Detective Decker," the woman greeted Chloe and shook her hand before turning to Lucifer. "I'm Detective Sandra Jacobs. You're Mr. Morningstar?"

"Lucifer," he introduced himself and shook her hand. Her skin was cool and dry, and she had a firm grip. Her eyes were icy blue with fine lines etched into her skin at the outer edges—laugh lines.

"Come in, thank you for meeting with me," Detective Jacobs held the door open, stepping aside as Lucifer entered. "Detective Decker, would you like me to phone you when we're done?"

"You're not staying?" Lucifer asked.

"I'm staying," Chloe assured him and smiled at Detective Jacobs. "Not in an official capacity. We're friends." 

"Lucifer was your CI?"

"Civilian Consultant," Chloe corrected.

Detective Jacobs nodded closed the door behind them. The room was tiny and had gray fabric-like walls with a small table pushed up against the wall. A small camera hung from the ceiling in the corner, aimed down at where the interviewee would sit. Detective Jacobs set up three chairs and motioned for them to sit down.

"Are we being recorded?" Lucifer asked and glanced up at the camera.

Detective Jacobs confirmed that they were. Standard procedure.

He didn't feel assured.

"Have you eaten today? Are you hungry?" The Detective asked.

"I ate breakfast," he answered and looked at Chloe. Was he missing a hidden meaning behind the question? Chloe raised her eyebrows. This was very different than the procedure in the interrogation room in homicide. Was this how the interview was supposed to go?

"You were a consultant with the LAPD for three years, is that correct?" Detective Jacobs asked.

Lucifer nodded, "Yes, three years. Working directly under the Detective, well not directly, but I did try." He grinned at Chloe, and she sighed and shook her head slowly.

"We're friends," Chloe added again.

Detective Jacobs carried on, unperturbed. "Mr. Morningstar,"

"Lucifer," he corrected.

"Lucifer. I understand you've been through a horrible experience."

"You mean the hospital, yes, it was quite dreadful there. The food—"

"You survived a violent attack."

"Oh, that. Yes. Horrible. But I don't remember. It's in the report. The police officers talked to me about in the hospital."

"I read it," Detective Jacobs answered smoothly. "And I'm aware of your file."

"I have a file?"

She nodded. "I wanted to get a better idea of who I would be talking to. You own that club on the strip." 

So she had heard of him. He grinned. "Lux. The best nightclub in LA." 

"I've been there."

"Oh! Then you know what I'm talking about," he beamed.

She nodded. "How long have you been back in LA?"

"Two nights?"

"You got back the night of the attack?"

"I believe so, yes."

"You aren't sure?" 

He glanced again at Chloe. "I woke up on the beach." 

Detective Jacobs watched the exchange, and Lucifer got the sense he'd done something wrong by looking to Chloe.

"Take your time, Lucifer," Jacobs tone was soft, friendly. "Tell me anything that comes to mind in any order. We'll figure this out together."

"There's nothing to figure out. I already told your people I don't remember." 

The violent crimes detective nodded and opened a folder. She lined up several generic photos of piers on the table. "Do you recognize any of these locations?" 

He pointed to the one on the right. A photo of a long pier with canopy. "This one has a wonderful sushi bar."

"Does anything else about them seem familiar?"

The one in the middle drew his attention, a dilapidated structure reaching out to the water with an old carousel featuring prominently in the foreground. He'd never been there had he? There was nothing special about it. He started drumming his fingers on the table. "No." 

"Okay," she said, but left the pictures where they were.

He couldn't look away from the carousel. "There was music," he admitted reluctantly.

"What kind of music?"

His finger drew a circle on the tabletop, going around and around before the word came to him. "Tinny, repetitive. Carousel music. Crafting those wooden animals used to be quite the art-form."

"That's interesting. Gatim Pier's carousel is one of the oldest in the country. You heard music. Was there anything else you remember? Sounds, smells, images?" 

"Salt. Ocean water tastes like salt," he said and had to stop. Why was it so hard to breathe? 

"Lucifer?" Detective Jacobs asked, leaning forward. "Would you like to take a break? I can bring you some water?" 

"Yes."

Chloe's hand was on his thigh. He stared down at her fingers and tried to remember when she had placed it there. Detective Jacobs left. The door closed.

"Lucifer?"

He reached over and flipped over the picture of Gatim Pier so he wouldn't have to stare at it any longer. "I don't know what this is." There wasn't enough air in this room, and he wanted to stand up, but Chloe's hand was on his thigh. The warmth of her hand on his lap barred his desire to escape.

The door clicked open, and Detective Jacobs entered, a glass of water in hand. She placed it on the table.

"Take your time," Detective Jacobs said. "You're safe here."

He snorted, he knew he was safe. But that didn't stop the walls from closing in around him, making the already dingy room smaller by the second. "I didn't lie. I don't remember what happened." He took a sip of the water; it tasted of salt.

The violent crimes detective stared, and he felt exposed under her gaze, as though all his ugly bits were visible. The moment stretched out; the way time does in Hell.

Could it be? Loops could warp memory. But Chloe squeezed his hand.

"Memories of traumatic events sometimes get fragmented. It's completely normal. Just say whatever comes to mind." 

In his mind, the carousel music continued to play. Salt. Cigarettes and laughter.

He rubbed his right middle finger where his ring should be. The memory of his ring. Had he been wearing it? He felt the ghost of fingers on his body, his hand, tugging on the ring on his finger, heard laughter—felt pain in his side.

But there shouldn't have been any pain because the stab wound had healed. He shouldn't be hearing or tasting or feeling any of these things.

"What else are you remembering, Lucifer?"

He stared at his hand. "They were laughing. I had my ring."

"They? Do you remember names, faces? What kind of ring?"

"No," he drank more water. "No, none of this is real," he said more forcefully and stood up. Chloe rose to her feet beside him.

The door wasn't locked, but if it was, he would have found a way to open it, powers or not. Lucifer strode into the hall. Away. Anywhere that wasn't that stuffy little room. If it was real, why hadn't he remembered it before? What was wrong with him?


	8. Chapter 8

Follow

Chloe rushed after Lucifer. She should have known he would automatically take a familiar path, cutting back the way they came and to homicide. 

That was where Ella intercepted and pounced on him with her signature hug. 

Chloe entered, closed the door, and pulled the blinds down. She gently steered Ella to the side as Lucifer stood perfectly still, tension evident in every aspect of his posture. 

"Hey, shouldn't you still be in the hospital?" Ella asked. "Lucifer, are you okay?" 

"He couldn't stay there. Everything is fine, Ella, just give us a minute," Chloe whispered. 

"What happened?" Ella pulled away and Chloe caught her again. 

"Let me deal with him, please?" Chloe asked. "Alone." 

Ella reluctantly nodded and stepped away. "I'll just… be at the snack machine. Want anything? No, okay then…" 

Lucifer paced the small space, running his hand through his hair, intent on some conversation in his head only he could hear. Chloe stood back, she’d seen him like this before.

She wasn't proud of how she handled those situations. There was so much Lucifer had always kept from her, but no, that wasn’t a defence. This time would be different. She hoped. 

She stepped closer to him as he paced, her hand reaching out for his elbow but not quite daring to touch. "Lucifer. Do you know where you are?" 

He slowed his pacing and looked around. "Yes, of course, I know where I am." He placed his hands on the counter, leaning forward, head down. "Ms. Lopez’ office at the precinct," he answered. "But I was… somewhere else before..." his voice trailed off in confusion. 

"We talked to Detective Jacobs." 

His hands were shaking when he drew his fingers through his hair. "Yes, yes, the crime detective. It's happening isn't it?" 

"Lucifer, what do you think is happening?"

"This is why these things are forbidden. Amenadiel knows. I know. Why would I do such a thing, it puts everyone around me in danger." 

"No one is in danger right now, Lucifer." 

He looked up at her, eyes pleading. "You, Ella, anyone who dares come near me. Having me stay with you puts your daughter at risk." 

Chloe pulled out a chair. "Come and sit down, please." She pulled another chair over to sit beside him. "You've done nothing to make me think you're dangerous to anyone other than yourself." 

"Must we wait until someone does get hurt?" 

"No. I don't think you're going to hurt anyone." 

"Detective—" 

"I've seen you upset and confused before." 

"This isn't the same. My memories aren't working properly, there's something wrong in my head." 

"I think you had a flashback, and possibly a panic attack. It's a normal reaction to extreme stress." 

“ _Normal?_ ” He shook his head, no. "Nothing like this has ever happened to me before." 

"But it happens to humans." 

"I'm not human." 

This time she reached out, placed her hand on his arm. "I know you're not, but maybe we're not so different as think." She leaned closer and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, holding him in a way she wished she had so many times before. And slowly, his arms came up, holding onto her as well. His head lowered, his face pressed against her hair.

"You don't understand what I am."

"I know enough," she whispered and did not let him go. 

His breathing evened out, slowed down, he lowered his forehead to rest on her shoulder. Chloe rubbed her hand over his back. "We're going to be okay. " 

He ended up leaning back and slouching in the chair when she went to open the door and let Ella back in. Ella came armed with several sodas and a bag of Cool Ranch Puffs. 

“You still like these, right?” She asked Lucifer. 

He popped open one of the cans and drank, then tore open the bag and shoved a handful to stuff in his mouth. “Thank you, Ms. Lopez.” 

One crisis averted. 

Lucifer cocked his head to the side and stared at Ella. “You took photos, didn’t you?” 

Ella stood stock still, eyes like saucers. “What photos?”

“Of the crime scene. Yes! You were there investigating my murder. You must have been taking photographs of the scene, am I right? How long were you there before the Detective arrived?” 

“What? Why?” 

"Well, let me see them."

Chloe placed a hand on Lucifer's shoulder. She'd just watched him nearly come apart. Now he wanted to see crime scene photos? "Lucifer, I don't think this is the right time." 

"Is there a right time? 

"When you're less upset." 

"But I need to find out why I'm here. I remember waking up on the beach, Detective, it's the _before_ that I'm having problems with. I doubt a dead body, even if it is my own, will be any worse than all the others we’ve seen." 

Ella looked a Chloe. “The violent-crimes detective already has them.” 

But Lucifer would not be ignored. “You told me before, you always make copies.” 

“Why do you want to see them?” 

“Because maybe whoever killed me knows what I am. I’m aware it wasn’t my best angle, but nonetheless, let’s have a look-see.” 

“Do you have them?” Chloe asked. She’d been too focused on Lucifer to pay attention to the scene. 

Ella didn't move, looking now at Lucifer. "I didn't know it was you. The medical examiner had already been there, checked things out. It was just another body. I'm so sorry. I'd have never taken those pictures had I known—” 

“It wasn’t your fault,” Lucifer interjected. 

But Ella was not about to be comforted so easily. “I left you there while I focused on the scene. I should have known better. I can’t believe you were alive the entire time and I just-” 

“You did nothing wrong, Ms Lopez. There's much we need to discuss.”

“What?” Ella asked, looking from one to the other. 

Lucifer gave Chloe a look. “It may serve us well to have Ella’s _full_ help.

“Are you sure?” Chloe asked Lucifer, and he nodded. “Okay, but not here. Are you busy after work? Come over to my apartment for supper, and we can talk then.”

“Right.” Ella winked. 

“And bring the photos,” Lucifer added. 

Ella looked from Lucifer to Chloe and back again, but nodded. "Okay. I'll bring everything I have."

Lucifer held onto the soda and the bag of puffs as Chloe steered him out and back to her car. She sat with her hands clenched on the wheel for a minute. The implications of telling another person about Lucifer were huge. As far as she knew, it was just her and Linda. “Are you sure about telling Ella?” Chloe asked. The implications of being a custodian of that knowledge was a heavy burden to bear. 

“She feels guilt over what happened on the beach. Misplaced guilt. Over me. If something were to happen to her…”

Chloe leaned her head back, head turned to watch Lucifer at her side. “You’re worried about Ella’s soul?”

“Aren't you?”

"Sure. Yeah." She wasn't. Or she hadn't been until now. 


	9. Chapter 9

Chloe and Lucifer stopped at the grocery store on the way home. 

"We should get candles." Lucifer reached for the box of decorative tea light candles and tossed them into the cart. 

"Why do we need candles? Is there a ritual, or…" 

Lucifer frowned. "For Ms. Lopez. She's Catholic. Catholics love candles." He thought about the walls of twinkling lights he remembered from the massive cathedrals, how the humans revered and prayed to the small flames even as his Dad remained hidden and unresponsive. Yes, humans adored candles. He could already visualize the scene he wanted to create in Chloe's apartment and reached for another box. 

Chloe grabbed his hand. "She'll be alright without them." 

"You're sure?" He asked, skeptical. 

"I'm sure," Chloe said and placed the candles back on the shelf. 

There were other ways to set a scene without candles. "Are we going to eat dinner before I tell her, or should I tell her after? Perhaps during? If we tell her first, that will make for a wasted meal. If we wait, we run the risk of heightening the tension, which is delightful when used in a certain context, but this is not one of those situations." 

"You're overthinking things."

That was no help. "You're right, take out will be best." 

Chloe nodded along, and Lucifer continued following her with the cart as she consulted her list and attacked the shelves with purpose. Supermarkets were wondrous things, so much selection from so many places in one location, but they held none of the old market squares' appeal. 

There were few locations he'd found in this country that could compare to the multitude of carts and stalls of fresh produce and wines, the shouting and bargaining. 

The supermarket was crowded, but no one interacted. No one talked or looked at each other, no conversations or gossiping about which stall carried the best or the freshest. 

Cereal, a bag of coffee beans from Costa Rica, bags of sliced bread, vegetables and fruits. Chloe seemed to know what she wanted. He would have loved to see her at work in the markets of Constantinople. He would buy her all the brightly colored fabrics. 

"Lucifer, is there anything you want?" 

Was there? His staff at Lux would return and set about stocking his shelves again soon, would they not? He needed to contact his accountant… and then he could move back into his penthouse. 

If he was Lucifer Morningstar. Which he wasn't. And more than likely he wouldn't even be around long enough to make use of any of the Devil's properties or wealth. And he certainly had no right to compromise the Detective or anyone at the precinct. 

"Lucifer." 

He snapped back into focus at the touch of the Detective's hand on his face, and he hastily stepped out of her reach. "Yes?" 

"Are you okay?" 

"Not in the slightest," he smiled and glanced at the cart. "Are we done here?" 

"Yes," Chloe took over the cart and pushed it toward one of the cash register lines. "I talked to Dan earlier, Trixie will stay with him for the rest of the week." 

"My apologies. I am putting you in a difficult situation. It is good that you are putting your offspring's well-being forefront." 

"That isn't what I'm worried about." 

"I don't mean to disrupt your life, Detective." 

She laughed. "Too late. You've been disrupting me since we first met." 

She didn't seem upset about it. "In a good way?" he asked. 

And his heart leaped when she nodded. "The best way," she answered. 

And then he remembered he wasn't the Lucifer she meant by that, and the positive feeling faded. 

Chloe paid for her items with her card, and they headed back out to her car to load the bags into the trunk. 

"Perhaps I should return and buy Ms Lopez some flowers—" 

"Lucifer, flowers aren't going to make a difference." 

He was afraid of that. 

The drive back to Chloe's apartment was silent. He helped bring the bags in, stood to the side as she put everything away. He felt like he should be busy with something, but he had no idea what. Chloe had already taken over the business of ordering Chinese after he attempted to request one of everything on the menu. And that left him with waiting. 

"Do you want to change before Ella arrives?" 

He looked down at his suit. "Is this not acceptable?" 

"It is. But, are you comfortable?" 

He smoothed out some of the lines in his trousers from sitting. Perhaps she was right, he should put on something fresh. Without the wrinkles. 

Chloe shoved the plastic bags into a container in the cupboard under her sink and came over and patted his arm. "Wear whatever makes you feel good." 

"Will this suffice?" 

"It’s perfectly fine, Lucifer." 

He nodded. "This was my idea, wasn't it? Do you think I should call her and cancel? Perhaps she can still help us even if she isn't aware of what I am?" He paced. "Detective, how would you have preferred to find out?" 

"We never did take the time to talk about that, did we?" 

He shook his head. "It never felt like the right time." 

Chloe cleared her throat and looked away. "I'm going to get changed. Try to relax. We'll get through this." 

It didn't escape his notice that Chloe didn't answer his question. He watched her retreat up the stairs and helped himself to a glass of whiskey. Watered down, and took slow sips this time. It wouldn't take much to feel the effects in this form, would it? That would be better off reserved until after meeting with Ms Lopez. 

A knock on the door startled him from his thoughts. The Detective still hadn't returned from putting on comfortable clothing. The knock came again. This was it. No more hiding. 

Ms Lopez stood at the threshold, a bottle of wine in her hand. Smiling. She thrust the wine at him, and he awkwardly accepted. "Kind of silly bringing a club owner alcohol, I know, but I couldn't think of anything else." She walked by him; a leather bag hung on her hip. Were those the pictures he'd asked her to bring? 

"The Detective ordered, take-out should arrive soon," Lucifer closed the door and followed Ms. Lopez in. Ella looked happy, excited even. 

That would change soon.

He looked up at the stairs again, wishing Chloe was here to buffer. Had they decided on when to tell Ella? Was it before or after supper? During? 

"You seem nervous. Is it about what you're going to tell me?" 

He stared at her, was it that obvious? "Are those pictures of the crime scene?" 

Ella held them back. "I'd rather wait for Chloe." 

Lucifer nodded and tucked his hands in his pockets. It was imperative that he make himself as non-threatening as possible, wasn't it? At least, Chloe would be here as support. He could offer to leave if Ms Lopez got upset. Or maybe he should leave regardless, give Chloe a chance to reassure Ms Lopez that he didn't intend to harm anyone. Ms Lopez was Catholic, for all her talk that the devil got a bad wrap, how would she react to being face to face with The Beast? 

He wouldn't be welcome back at the precinct after this. 

Would Ms Lopez start collecting evidence against him? Try to send him back or destroy him the way the Detective had? 

Ms Lopez rested a hand on his back. "You okay?" 

He moved aside, out of reach. "Yes." 

Ms Lopez looked skeptical. "So." She chewed her lip and looked around. 

And thankfully the Detective came down the stairs and greeted her co-worker. Ella hugged her and showed her the wine, and Chloe thanked her properly, the way he should have. 

"We thought it best to order take out, I hope you like Chinese?" Chloe asked

Ella smiled, "Who doesn't? Wow, the traffic was bad getting here, is it always like that?" 

Lucifer half listened. They talked about the weather next. The heatwave hitting the city. Smog. Mundane everyday things. 

"So, what do you want to tell me? Is it about the case?" 

Lucifer looked at Chloe, concerned that she was also looking at him. Did she also not know what to do? 

"About the case," Lucifer started, "Yes. Yes, you could say that." 

The Detective was nodding along, lips pressed tightly shut. 

Lucifer took another sip of whiskey. More than a sip. "Perhaps we should wait until after we eat?" 

"Oh come on? You're going to torture me with suspense if you do that." Ella complained. 

"Torture? No, that is not my intention at all." 

"Then out with it. What do we need to discuss." 

"Ms Lopez. I am the Devil." He frowned, that wasn't true either was it? 

"Oh my God!" She looked from him to Chloe and broke into a massive grin. "Did you finally get that movie role you've been practicing for?" 

Chloe stepped forward. "Ella, that's not what he means. There's no part. He's not an actor. He's the Devil. It's real." 

Ella's eyes grew massive. "You know?" 

Lucifer felt more confused than ever and glanced back at Chloe. "Know what? And I've never been an actor, method or otherwise." 

"About—" Ella stared at him in a way he thought should be meaningful, but he had absolutely no idea about. 

"About?" he asked.

"Being, you-know-who?" She brought her hands up to the sides of her head; index fingers up in hooked horns.

"I've never had horns." He looked at Chloe. Chloe looked at Ella. 

"Do you," Chloe started cautiously, "Know who Lucifer is?" 

Ella rolled her eyes. "You do know! How long have you known? I've been trying to be discreet but we could have been collab-ing all along." 

The doorbell rang, and Chloe held up her hand. "Just—wait—I'll be right back and we'll figure this out." 

It was the Chinese take-out. Lucifer drank more of his whiskey. Was this another thing he'd forgotten? Like the Detective's phone number or the combination of his safe? It didn't seem like it fit with the other holes in his memory, but how would he know? He couldn't remember. 

"Are you saying you've been pretending to think I'm a method actor pretending to be the devil?" 

"Well, yeah. Lame, right? I'm so sorry, I wasn't expecting you just to come right out and announce it, and I didn't know what else to say at the time, and after that I just kind of went with it." 

Lucifer blinked. "When I told you I was the Devil, you believed me?" 

"I mean, that was the whole reason I came to LA." 

Chloe dumped the bag of food on the counter. 

"Azrael." Lucifer let out a breath. He drank the rest of his glass of whiskey and poured himself another. "My sister," he explained to Chloe, then back to Ella. "She never told me you knew." 

"She thought we'd be good for each other. And she was right." Ella turned to Chloe. "How long have you known?" 

"I found out, for certain, right after—" Chloe's voice wavered.

He finished for her. "After I killed Cain. Or rather, Marcus, as you knew him." He drank more. 

"Oh." Ella cleared her throat. "So, the trip to Rome…" 

Chloe started unpacking the food. "Hungry?" 

"Yeah, famished. So, this was it, huh? You invited me over to bring me into the loop?" 

Lucifer popped his lips. "Don't worry, you're not completely caught up yet. There's more." The Detective reached to take his glass, but he pulled it out of reach and drank down the rest of it. "Here's a kicker for you. I, am not me." 

He stood up and started undoing his belt buckle. 

"Oh, whoa, dude, you know I kind of saw all that already at the nudist resort. No need for an encore." 

"That's not what he's showing you," Chloe assured her, but then stared at him. "Right?" 

He lowered his waistline and raised his shirt and vest just enough to show the healed stab wound. "There is a scar. If I were me, there wouldn't be a scar." 

"When I thought you were dead, I knew right away something bad wrong must have happened. Like, I've seen some pretty crazy evidence come in from the cases you've been involved in. Oh, wow, that healed fast." Ella crept forward and poked at the puffy, swollen, skin around the area of the stitches. "These stitches look angry." 

"That's one word for it." He let the shirt drop but didn't bother doing up the belt. Instead, he reached for the whiskey again. 

"You've gotta get those taken out," Ella said in a quiet voice. "I've got an emergency kit in the car if you want?" 

"Did you not hear what I just told you? I'm not me." 

"You seem like you," Ella insisted. "Are you sure?" 

"I'm not making it up for fun." He shook his head. "I'm an abomination. A crime against creation doomed to wreak havoc and destroy everything I come in contact with." 

"Okay. That seems a little harsh," Ella said.

"You're not an abomination," Chloe leaned in and whispered. 

"You don't know what I am." 

"Neither do you." 

Lucifer tipped his glass up for another sip of whiskey and only a drop was left. Had he drank all that already. He reached to refill his glass but Chloe grabbed it first and pulled it away, shoving a plate into his hands instead. Rice, chicken balls, noodles. A fork? 

"No chopsticks?" 

Chloe dropped the paper-wrapped stick package beside the fork. "Think you can manage?" 

He tore off the paper and pinched the sticks with his fingers, holding them up to show just how capable he was of managing. 

Over Chinese take out, Chloe told Ella what they knew so far. He was grateful for that. The tattoo on his back, the sigil and his disastrous meeting with Amenadiel were all recounted in detail. 

"Amenadiel threatened to kill you?" Ella asked incredulously. 

"My existence is a threat" Lucifer answered. 

Both women looked at him, and then back to each other. "What do you think?" Ella asked Chloe. 

"I don't know what to think about anything," Chloe admitted. 

Lucifer wanted a drink in his hand so badly it hurt. 

"How about we look at this from another angle?" 

Lucifer picked at his noodles and spun them around in circles. He sat up. "Yes, an autopsy!" 

Both Chloe and Ella blinked at him. "I don't think that's the word you think it is," Ella explained. 

"Of course it is. How else are you going to see what I am?" 

Ella choked on a noodle. "Oh, I don't know. Something more mundane like, blood tests? Tissue samples? I have a kit in the car. We could do it right now. Honestly, do you have any idea how long I've been dying to do this?" 

“Cut into me?” 

" _Study_ you. It just always seemed rude before, you know? Hold on, I'll be right back." Ella ran out the door, barely taking the time to close it behind her. 

"You're sure about this?" Chloe asked. 

Lucifer had never been so sure about anything. "Detective, you need proof. You deserve to know what kind of monster I am." 

Ella returned with a large square metal case and Lucifer and Chloe followed her into the living room. Ella plunked the case down on the coffee table. Inside were various tubes, wrapped syringes, scalpels, and jars. "I mean, it's not the first time I've collected evidence associated with you. But like, doing this in person is so much better." 

"Evidence?" 

"Lay down, I'll get rid of those stitches for you first." Ella sorted through her aluminum case, searching out the items she needed. "Never as much as the scene where Marcus died, that was wild. You wouldn't believe the trouble I went through to convince everyone all those feathers belonged to some kind of ostrich. We even had an ornithologist come in. Inconclusive. Well, duh, I could have told them that." 

"Then you can compare my blood to what you found at the scene?" He lay down, and Ella settled herself on her knees beside the couch and tugged his shirt up to reveal the scar. 

"No can do. All that stuff is gone. Can't exactly have evidence like that hanging around, can we?" She pulled on blue latex gloves and probed the scarred area on his side. "I can hardly believe this was an open wound just two days ago." She opened a package of sterile scissors. "You have no idea how sorry I am about what happened on the beach. Were you aware the whole time? I could have sworn you had no pulse when I checked. If only I'd taken a closer look I could have—" 

"I was dead, Ms Lopez," Lucifer murmured. "You did nothing wrong." 

"Dead, dead?" 

"Very much so. I was aware of nothing until I woke up choking on saltwater." 

"Well, that explains why the wound wasn't bleeding until after you woke up. You don't remember anything about who did this to you?" 

"I don't know. Did you bring the photos I asked for?" 

"Yeah. Everything I could find." 

She snipped at the knotted end of the stitch and pulled at the other end, repeating the process for each one. "If you're not you. Then—what do you think you are?" 

"A simulacrum. Beings brought forth through unnatural means. Crafted to serve the purpose of their masters." 

"Like Frankenstein's Monster?" 

Lucifer frowned. "I said crafted. Not sewn together with a collection of spare parts." 

"And you think you did this to yourself?" 

"That's what the sigil on my back suggests." 

Ella taped a strip of gauze over the scar, he positioned his arm palm up and wiped the inside of his elbow with an alcohol wipe. She reached for a syringe. 

Lucifer pulled his arm away. "What do you need that for?" 

"Blood sample." She reached for him again. He let her take his arm this time. "Amenadiel is an angel, too, isn't he?" Ella asked. 

"Yes." 

"I need a sample from him, something to compare this to." 

"Not going to happen." Lucifer sighed. "The last thing Amenadiel is going to want to do is help me. Especially not by providing proof of divinity." 

"Is there anyone else?" 

Lucifer closed his eyes as Ella dabbed at his arm and placed a band-aid over the skin. "There's Uriel." 

"You think he'll cooperate?" Chloe asked. 

"It won't be a problem." Lucifer sat up, a hand pressed to his side to ease the sting of the stitches that had been removed. "Now, the photos." 

Chloe had them. Ella cleared away her kit, and the folder took their place. 

They watched him closely as the pictures were laid out. What were they expecting? Were they afraid of him? "Why don't you want me to see these?" 

Chloe said nothing. So he looked. This wasn't like looking at other crime scene photos, or even the corpses he'd seen in person. This was his body. He studied each photo carefully. The full shot, and the close-up Ella had taken of the tattoo on his back. By far the best representation he'd seen of it so far.

"Are you okay?" Chloe asked.

"It's excellent work, isn't it? Not that your work isn't stunning as well," he assured Ms Lopez. "Look at this!" 

He held the full-body photo.

"What do you see?" Chloe asked, leaning in to look at the photo with him. 

"This body is quite exquisite. Art, in fact." 

Ella plucked the photo form Lucifer's fingertips. "Okay. So, anything new here we didn't know before?" 

Lucifer leaned back on the couch. "Unfortunately, no." 

"How do we find Uriel?" Chloe asked, her hand resting on Lucifer's knee. He longed to place his hand over hers, to feel the soft, warm texture of her skin, but held back. 

"I'll take you to him tomorrow." 


	10. Chapter 10

“You're sure this is the way?" Chloe asked, winding her way along the mountain roads. 

"Yes, this is the way," Lucifer grumbled from the passenger seat as stared down at a book of crossword puzzles. "Eight letter word for South American snake?" 

Ella harrumphed in the back. "Narrow it down? Did you know there are over sixty species of venomous coral snakes alone, not even counting all the others?"

"First and third letters are "'A', Does that help?" 

"Anaconda. Really? You'd think they'd try to be just a little less obvious." 

Lucifer shrugged. "Four letter word for 'Highest Point', starting with the letter A." 

Chloe sighed. "How do you know where we're going if you don't look up from that book?" 

Lucifer looked up. "We're going the right way, Detective." 

Ella piped up from the back. "Acme! Does it fit?" 

"Yes, Ms Lopez," he answered and scribbled it in. 

Chloe sighed. He'd been tight-lipped ever since Ella went home the evening before, answering only, _you'll understand when we get there_. She tried not to push too hard. Lucifer was different from before, but that wasn't enough to say he wasn't Lucifer. It was impossible to think of him as anyone other than. 

Ella's forensic kit from the night before was in the trunk. Was it possible that this would tell them what they needed to know? If Ella's tests came back with proof Lucifer wasn't himself, what then? 

"Maybe we shouldn't do this," Chloe suggested. 

Lucifer glanced her way. "And that's exactly why we must." 

They'd driven for about an hour when Lucifer finally put the puzzle book away and started watching the road. "Turn up here. At the small parking area." 

"To the observatory?" 

"Yes, that way." 

They turned onto a narrow road. Other cars passed them going down. "This is a tourist area." 

"Park here." Lucifer gestured at a small lot at the road's side, a hiking trail signpost mapping out the area. 

"You know this is super creepy right?" Ella asked. She got out, retrieved her kit from the trunk, and picked up one of the little hiking map brochures. "Why does this remind me of the non-grave grave you brought me to that other time?" 

"What non-grave?" Chloe peeked over Ella's shoulder at the brochure. There were hiking paths all through these hills. "Lucifer, now would be a good time to tell us where we're going." 

He didn't. He started along the path. No brochure necessary, he seemed confident about where he was going. Chloe followed behind Ella. They veered off the track about three hundred yards in, and he continued. There was no discernible trail.

Chloe caught up, and the three of them stood on the side of the mountain. "It's beautiful. Is that—"

"L.A.? Yes. There's too much haze in the air today to see much. At night, it feels like the stars are both above and below. That's why Amenadiel chose this location." 

"Is Uriel meeting us here?" 

Lucifer looked at Chloe. His mouth turned down on the edges. "Sorry Detective, I'm having just a bit of trouble finding where to go from here. Give me a moment." He stepped away, strolling in a circle, looking around. "Ah, here it is. Do you see it?" 

"See what?" 

Lucifer reached out his hand, and she accepted, he led her slowly along the ridge. "You're not meant to see, and neither am I anymore, it seems. But here we are. Look."

There were flowers. Just one or two at first, but the farther along they went, it was as if the entire mountainside was overflowing with small purple and white star-shaped flower. "Did you plant these?" 

He laughed. "No." He crouched and placed his hand on the ground, took a deep breath. "Do you feel it?" 

Chloe hesitated. "Feel what?" 

But behind her, Ella grinned widely. "It's amazing. It's like, I don't know. Pure." 

"Divinity," Lucifer explained. "This entire area is infused with it. Not much farther now." 

She hadn't thought it possible for the flowers to grow any denser than they already were. But they grew larger and brighter with every step. And she did feel it now. Like a tingling sensation under her skin. "Lucifer?" 

He stopped again. "Be careful. The opening is right here." 

Chloe retook his hand as she stepped around an old wooden platform. An entrance lay before them. Ella joined her. They stood staring into the dark.

"Anyone think to bring a flashlight?" Ella asked. 

Chloe held up her cell phone. "This should do." 

He hesitated. "Go in. It's safe inside." 

Ella stepped in first. "Wow." 

Chloe looked back at Lucifer one more time before turning on the flash on her phone and following Ella inside. 

He walked in behind her. 

"Holy Shirt, is that a body?" Ella reached over and grabbed Chloe's arm, yanking her forward. The phone light wobbled until Ella placed her hand over hers and directed it over to the far corner. And there he was. "This is Uriel?" 

"That's my bro," Lucifer said far too cheerfully behind her. 

The man lying on the ground looked to be sleeping. Chloe broke away from Ella's hold and knelt beside him, she placed her fingers at his throat, felt his wrist. "Call an ambulance. He's still warm." How could Lucifer be so calm, didn't he know—

Lucifer placed his arm on her shoulder, pulling her back. He crouched beside her, staring down at the body. "He's dead."

"Lucifer, he's still warm. What if it's like you. On the beach, I saw you, and you woke up." 

"He's been dead for over three years by your counting." 

"Three years? No, look at him." Chloe stared at the body again. There was no way. 

"Three years?" Ella asked, crouching now at their side. "Is this—?" 

"The body from the super creepy non-grave grave? Yes." 

Ella opened her kit but hesitated before touching anything. "He's an angel?" 

"Yes." 

"Can I touch him. Like, are there rules?" 

"He's dead, Ms Lopez. The body is inconsequential." 

Chloe swallowed with difficulty. The entire cave was covered in vines sprouting tiny white flowers. They grew as though to embrace the body. Hesitantly, she touched the body's hand again, hoping she'd been wrong about the warmth. She wasn't. "How?" 

"Divinity, what you call blessed, does not corrupt. Not even in death." 

Ella bit her lip. "But you, when we found you on the beach you were," 

"Corrupted," Lucifer filled in for her. "I know." 

Ella placed a needle to the skin and pushed. The skin did not pierce. Lucifer cleared his throat and gestured to the abdomen. "There's a wound. You'll be able to take your samples from there." 

The wound stood out stark against the otherwise perfect skin. 

"He was murdered?" Chloe asked. 

"Yes."

"By who? Should I be taking evidence?" 

"I told you. You deserve to know what I am. I did this." Lucifer admitted and turned away. 

"What?" Chloe looked back at Lucifer, nausea growing in her stomach. "You killed him? You told me Marcus—Cain—was the first. How many others are there?"

"It wasn't a lie, Detective. Cain was the first human I killed. Uriel," he answered, the words barely audible. "Uriel was the first being. My brother." 

His voice broke through her shock and anger. The tone was tight, controlled, but only barely. His shoulders were tense, coiled almost. 

"Why did you bring us here?" 

"You need to know, Detective. And this is the evidence Ella needs—" 

"No," Chloe stepped toward him. "You don't just bring everyone to visit a corpse you've been hiding away for years without thinking it through very carefully. I know you wouldn't do that." 

"How does anyone know what I would do? I'm not real!" he yelled, voice reverberating within the cave.

Chloe passed Ella the phone. This wasn't good. Not on any level. Lucifer, whatever he was, clearly wasn't alright. "Let's get out of here." 

Despite everything, she wasn't afraid of him. He stared at her, barely breathing, eyes wide and unfocused. "And go where?" 

"Outside. Let's get some fresh air." She took his hand and tugged, he followed without resistance. This wasn't the same as the panic attack at the precinct. This was different. She brought him out to the mountainside and pulled him down to sit on a bed of moss among the flowers. He drew up his legs and rested his forehead on his knees. 

"Tell me what happened? With Uriel?" Chloe asked. She wasn't sure that talking about it more was the right move to make here. But he'd kept it bottled up inside for so long, now that he'd shown them the body, maybe confession would help. 

"I killed him. We fought, and I didn't know how else to stop him." 

"Why did you fight him?" Chloe placed her hand on his back.

"He would have taken you and Mum."

"Taken me where?" 

"Heaven. I assume. He has—had, the ability to see patterns, predict outcomes, set events in action to bring about the result he wanted." 

"You killed him in a fight? Because you wanted to protect me?" Chloe asked Lucifer didn't deny it. She thought back to after her car accident, how he'd blamed it on… oh. 

"I killed him. Proof that I'm a monster." 

She remembered now. It was around Halloween and the case about the former action movie stars. He'd been on the edge of a breakdown, more than, based on his reckless actions with the sniper, and he'd used the same words to describe himself then. _Monster_. 

"So you see," Lucifer continued. "Even before I became an actual monster, I already was one. So what does that make me? You should take me to Amenadiel. He'll do what needs to be done."

Ignoring the last part, for now, Chloe asked, "Do you think I'm a monster?" 

"Of course not, Detective."

"I've killed. I shot Malcolm to protect you and Trixie. And I would have killed Pierce. To protect you." She stopped there because she didn't think there was much more she could say. They sat together quietly, looking out over the city in the distance. 

Ella came out of the cave with the samples she needed. "Should we do something with the body?" 

Lucifer shook his head, no. "Amenadiel and Maze chose a good place for him here. This is where he should stay." 

Picking their way back to the path was easier than finding the way down, Chloe led the way this time with Lucifer falling behind a few steps. They made it back to the car, but Lucifer stopped before joining them. "I can stay here. Call Amenadiel. Let him know where to find me." 

"No." Chloe opened the passenger door and motioned for him to get in. "Nothing has changed. You're staying with me." 

He nodded and entered. But the way back to the city was quiet, and they didn't talk even after dropping Ella off at the precinct. 


	11. Chapter 11

Lucifer expected Chloe to come to her senses and drop him off before reaching her apartment. Perhaps she would make a detour and drop him off at Linda's after all. But no.

"Coming?" Cloe asked. 

"You're sure? We did just visit—" 

"The resting place of a supernatural being? Yes. I know." Chloe rubbed the bridge of her nose. "This doesn't change anything. Come inside. Please?" 

He followed. Continuing this charade put the Detective in danger. And to endanger Chloe was the last thing— 

Chloe's arm hit his chest as she stopped in the doorway, bringing him to an abrupt halt. "The door's open. Wait here. I'll check it out." 

Lucifer stepped back as she cautiously entered the apartment, gun already in hand. He had no powers left to help her now. It stood to reason she wouldn't want his assistance. "I'll wait right here for you," he called after. In bad-guy stalking mode, Chloe always made for pleasant viewing. At least until she turned the corner out of sight. 

Which left him standing alone, leaning against the railing. No sound came from within the apartment. Other than several obnoxiously loud birds twittering away, nothing happened. And nothing continued happening, leaving ample time for thoughts to creep back to the surface. 

He touched his hand to his jacket pocket, searching for his flask. Or a phone. Any distraction from the present would be appreciated. 

A shadow flicked across the patch of sun on the stairs. 

"Lucifer." 

A smile formed as soon as he recognized the voice. "Maze, you're here." 

She stood in leather-clad splendor, hands on her hips, hair loose around her shoulders. Longer than he remembered. Her eyes flicked to Chloe's open door then back to him. "Let's take a walk." 

"Yes." He expected this, but it did not spoil the pleasure of seeing her again. Maze led the way, and he followed willingly. "I've thought about it, and I've come to a conclusion. For the benefit and safety of everyone involved, we should finish this as soon as possible. Not here, of course. The Detective shouldn't be expected to deal with my corpse twice in one week. And not anything messy. I don't want to—" 

Maze spun to face him, and he stopped. They stood in the middle of the car park. Her arms hung at her sides, hands clenched into tight fists. The moment stretched out awkwardly. 

"Do you have any weapons on you? I'm not invulnerable anymore. Any blade will do." 

"You left me." Maze stated. 

"I would never. You know what I am, don't you?" 

Maze narrowed her eyes. "Linda filled me in. She told me what you think you are." She took a step closer, so close their chests touched. Lucifer gazed down on her, and she looked up at him. 

"You'll do it then?" Lucifer asked. 

She sucked in a deep breath, leaning in close to his neck. 

"Maze?"

Unexpectedly, she cupped his face in her hands, stared intently into his eyes, and then pushed away. She snorted. "It's perfect."

"Maze? This thing that I am," he couldn't hide the disgust from his voice. "I'm not real." The shame of it nearly overwhelmed him as he spoke. Amenadiel knew. Now to face Mazikeen, his Maze. 

"Amazing." Maze let out a soft puff of breath and took his hand, studying his palm and fingers. She rubbed her thumb over the base of his finger where his ring should be. 

Lucifer shook his head. "I'm a monster. An abomination." 

She snorted. "By whose rules? Look at yourself." She shook her head and then smacked his shoulder. "Where is your ring?" 

It wasn't the reaction he expected, but he didn't have time to contemplate what that meant before Chloe emerged from her apartment. 

"Lucifer!" Chloe yelled.

Both he and Maze turned toward Chloe as she raced down the stairs and pushed her way between them. "Get away from him," Chloe's arm reached back, grabbing Lucifer's arm. 

"What? I can't greet my old boss?" 

In another time, another body, he could imagine enjoying being fought over by the two women who meant the most to him. "Old boss?" 

"Yes, Lucifer." 

"That's not who I am. I thought you said you understood."

"All too well." Maze leveled him with a glare, then grabbed his wrist and held up his arm. "What happened to your ring?" 

"Don't have it," Lucifer answered. 

Chloe interjected, "It could have been stolen in the initial attack."

"Or not in my possession at all," Lucifer added, but Maze ignored the interruption. 

Maze turned on him. "Think, Lucifer. Why would you bother sending a simulacrum here without a way to control it?" 

She had a point. Lucifer contemplated his bare finger where the ring would be. "Of course. The ring was the link." 

Her grin confirmed it. 

"A link to what?" Chloe asked. 

Lucifer placed his hand on Maze's shoulder and hoped the look he cast her way would be enough for her to understand. It was, because she turned to the Detective. 

"Tell me everything you know about the humans who took Lucifer's ring." 

The three of them stilled as a minivan slowly passed and pulled into a parking spot. 

"We should discuss this in private. Maze, did you break into my apartment?" 

Maze narrowed her eyes, and the moment very nearly turned into a stare-down until Chloe's elderly neighbor sauntered by with an armload of groceries. 

They resumed their discussion inside. Lucifer poured three drinks at Chloe's breakfast nook while Chloe and Maze sat in the living room. 

Maze took her drink as offered, but Chloe placed hers on the coffee table. Lucifer took a seat beside her and stared across at Mazikeen. 

Chloe had a map spread out on the coffee table. She ran her finger along the coast and tapped her finger. "Gatim Pier. This is where we think he was mugged. It's not far from where he was found." 

"An ancient site where rituals to bridge the worlds have been performed for eons." Maze thumped her fist against the table. "Who knew of your coming, Lucifer?" 

He regarded her, unamused. "No memory, remember." 

Maze reached forward and trapped his wrist. "Try harder." 

Lucifer pulled away. "I've tried. I recognize no faces, no purpose. There I was, powerless, defenseless, and an easy target for run of the mill thugs." 

"You do remember? We need to call Detective Jacobs. Can you remember what they looked like?" Chloe asked. "We can bring you back to the precinct to look through mugshots."

"They were random human males. What difference does it make? I don't recall anything useful. They certainly weren't after supernatural artifacts or looking to advance their power. Just common criminals." 

Maze tossed her hair over her shoulder. "Human thugs. I will find them and the ring." She inhaled and closed her eyes, "The presence of Hell is strong. I can smell it from here." She looked at Chloe intently. "He found a way back to us, Decker. As soon as the ring is back on his finger, Lucifer will be with us again." 

"How do you mean back with us?"

Lucifer winced at the wording and sat back and drained the glass he'd been drinking. "It will set things back to the way they should be." 

"And that means what?"

"This is only a husk, a vessel. The fact I have consciousness, coherent thought, it's an aberration. The ring should fix that." 

"You're with us now." Chloe reached over and grasped his hand as if there were a chance he would disappear. If only it were that easy. 

At the risk of getting drunk again, Lucifer poured another drink. "I'm not real, remember?" 

Chloe clenched her jaw. "Don't say that." 

Lucifer met Maze's gaze and nodded. "Find the ring." 

"I will." She stood and left. 

That left him and Chloe alone again. She snatched the drink out of his hand and took it over to the kitchen counter and then stood, staring at him—a reasonable reaction. One didn't encounter many abominations these days in L.A. A few thousand, or even a few hundred years ago, people knew how to deal with the monstrous in everyday life. They got rid of them.

"You are real."

"Don't worry Detective, Maze will be good to her word. Before you know it, you will have your true Devil back. Everything will return as it should." 

"Lucifer, stop." 

"Lucifer? You keep calling me that, but you know that's not who I am." He rolled his eyes and plastered on a smile. "At least Amenadiel will be pleased. I should give him a ring and deliver the good news." 

"Why are you so intent on leaving? Is it—is there something? A reason you don't want to be here? I know I—" 

"It isn't that I don't want to be here." Lucifer corrected her quickly and then firmly shut his mouth. No. He had to leave. Staying courted disaster. 

"Is it me?" 

"Detective—Chloe, no." Lucifer stood up and took a step toward her. He looked into her eyes. He remembered, the memory felt real, how she looked on the balcony when he'd said goodbye. "I want to stay with you. I would give anything, do anything, to have that chance. Don't you see, that's exactly why I can't?"

"I'm calling Linda." 

"For yourself or me?" 

"Both." Chloe picked the glass up and drank it. "I know who you are." 

Lucifer shook his head. "I don't even know who I am." 

"Why do you need the ring?" Chloe asked. 

"I shouldn't exist. The ring, presumably, will set things right." 

"None of this makes any sense. I would know. If you weren't you, I'd know." Chloe rubbed at her eyes and leaned against the counter. 

"A part of me is. I am, and yet I'm not." He didn't want her to be sad. She should be glad they found a solution. Lucifer stood up and copied her posture, leaning against the counter beside her. "I don't know what went wrong or how I came to be like this. Above my paygrade, just like the codes to my safe, your phone number, and a thousand other little things this mind cannot grasp. I am confident that the real me, the real Lucifer, feels the same way about you as I do, and he's going to be very grateful we've found a solution to his problem." 

Chloe sniffed. "I can't lose you again." 

"I told you how I felt before I left—before he—left. A year ago, wasn't it? A significant amount of time in human terms, correct? Much more in Hell. Have your feelings changed?" 

"No. No, they didn't change." 

"Then, you should be happy. You're love will return to you." 

Chloe's breath caught for a moment. He'd gotten through to her, then, she must understand that this— 

She gripped the front of his shirt, drawing him closer. 

This time his breath caught. "Detective?" 

"You said you remember. Do you feel the same way? Do you feel anything at all?" 

"I feel it," he answered, his skin tingled and felt chilled and overheated all at once. 

And she pressed her lips against his. 

It hurt deep inside to pull away, but he did. "We can't. You know what I am." 

"Do you want this?" Chloe asked. 

"Yes," Lucifer admitted.

There wasn't anything he cared about beyond Chloe. "I can't." 

She pulled away, momentarily and glanced down. "You can't?" 

The evidence he _could_ pressed uncomfortably against his pants. "I don't mean physically incapable. Isn't this proof I want things that can never be mine? That I am reaching beyond my means?"

"Because you have feelings for me?"

It suddenly became extremely difficult to meet her eyes. "What I am—" 

"Yes, you already told me. You think you are some kind of copy." Chloe placed her hand on his, and he opened his mouth to respond, but she didn't wait for an answer. This time she put her hand on his chest. "I made the mistake of not trusting my instincts before. I won't do that again. You are Lucifer Morningstar."

"Chloe." Those were the only words he could make, his throat constricted, his chest hurt. 

"Lucifer?"

She still didn't understand. He closed his eyes. "I want you." 

Chloe didn't let him go. 

Maybe Maze would have more trouble than anticipated finding the ring. Perhaps the thugs who jumped him would be long gone. Moved to the farthest reaches of Tibet. Preferably farther than the moon. Or maybe he and the Detective could leave together, move to a faraway island. There were several lovely islands in Lucifer's real estate portfolio he could choose. 

One with an active volcano to throw the ring into would be perfect. 

"Doesn't it bother you that I'm not him?"

"You are." 

It would end. This moment couldn't last. Lucifer tightened his arm around Chloe and attempted to banish all other thought and simply savor the moment. For millennia, this was nothing new, every foray to earth consisted of only moments of stolen time, cherishing everything he experienced while he could. The difference was, at no time had he ever imagined his time would come to an end.


	12. Chapter 12

Chloe's phone buzzed with an incoming text message. The morning sun shined in through her bedroom window, and a glance at the clock read seven a.m. 

Lucifer slept as she picked it up. After, she placed the phone face down onto her nightstand and rolled onto her side, facing Lucifer. The shadows under his eyes were dark, even in the dim light. She ran the pad of her thumb over his brow, he twitched.

Lucifer opened his eyes. "Chloe." 

"Hey." 

"Any word from Maze?"

Why did he have to ask that? Anything else, she'd have been happy to answer. She could lie. Tell him Maze hadn't found anything. And then what? "She sent a text." 

Lucifer went from tired to wide awake in a heartbeat. "Did she find the ring?" He stumbled out of bed and started pulling his clothes back on. 

"Maze will bring the ring this morning. You don't have to do this." 

"Yes, I do." 

"But I love you."

"You love _him_."

"You told me before it matters what I think." 

"It's all that matters." 

"I know you. I know who you are. What will happens to you when you put that ring on?" 

Lucifer looked away. "Don't you want him back?" 

"Yes," Chloe took his hand. "More than anything. Even if I'm wrong and you aren't the Lucifer I know, you're a person. You deserve the right to exist." 

"You shouldn't say such things," Lucifer admonished, and sat quietly. 

They waited in the living room for Maze to arrive. Lucifer sat across from her, distanced. 

Maze burst through the door. Her nose wrinkled as she took in the scene, and Chloe's cheeks grew warm. Maze couldn't tell, could she? Of course, she could. How many times had her former roommate claimed to _smell_ sex on people? 

But Maze's full attention was on Lucifer. The black ring rested on the palm of her hand. "I told you I'd find it."

Lucifer wrapped his arms around Maze's shoulders. "You have always been loyal to me, Maze." 

He plucked the ring with two fingers. His gaze turned to Chloe. "Which is why I regret having to do this." In his other hand, he held Maze's dagger. "I left Chloe once. I won't do it again."

Chloe's cell phone beeped. _Not now_. 

Maze's expression turned cold, but her lips lifted in a grin as her hand closed on her second dagger's hilt. "You think you can fight me?"

"I can try," Lucifer replied grimly, but he stepped aside, leading the potential fight away from Chloe. "But you know what I think? You aren't going to risk damaging me, are you? Your master spent too much time crafting this body to let it go to waste. How long? Eons, I imagine." 

Maze sheathed the dagger back into her buckle. "I helped create you."

Lucifer's grip tightened on the hilt, turning his knuckles white. "What was I made of? Clay? No, clay can't create a detailed form like this. What then? Ash? Bentonite?"

Chloe's phone beeped again. Her hand shook as she drew it from her pocket to turn off the notifications. 

"We made you out of Lucifer's flesh," Maze answered. 

Lucifer reeled back as though from a physical blow. "Flesh of his flesh?" he whispered. 

The message was from Ella. Chloe swiped the screen, and her breath caught in her throat. "Lucifer, Ella has the results from the blood test. It's the same as Uriel's." 

Maze crept closer, holding out her hand. "Do you understand now?" 

Lucifer let the dagger fall from his trembling hand. 

"Lucifer," Chloe called, "What does that mean?" She wondered if she would ever understand the world Lucifer and Maze came from. 

Lucifer turned to her. "I am real." He smiled and released a short laugh, infused with joy and relief. "Chloe, all this time I thought I was an abomination. I should have known I'd find a better solution than that. Ella's tests prove it. I am made of divinity, but without the divine spark. That's why Amenadial couldn't sense it. This is brilliant. I'm still me, yet not of Dad. Of myself. In essence, I'm free." 

"And the ring?" Chloe asked. 

"Is the conduit," Maze answered. "Put it on, and you'll be whole again."

Chloe froze in place as Lucifer slipped the ring onto his finger. 

Lucifer's eyes went black. From his back exploded long white feathered wings, held aloft, glowing. There wasn't space for them in her living room. The tv fell from its stand, and books fell off the shelves. 

Maze now stood by Chloe's side as light bent toward Lucifer's figure, illuminating him in a brilliant glow while leaving the rest of the room in darkness. 

Chloe stumbled and fell back, and the vision ended. Lucifer fell to his knees. The wings disappeared, the light in the room returned to normal. 

He looked up and blinked. "Chloe?" he whispered and passed out. 

"What was that?" Chloe asked, kneeling beside Lucifer's body. She checked his pulse and let out a breath of relief. Alive. 

"That is Lucifer Morningstar." Maze smiled proudly and joined Chloe at Lucifer's side. She slapped his face twice in quick succession. 

Lucifer's eyes fluttered open. "Maze," he whispered. Next, he smiled at Chloe. "Detective." 

Maze hovered, demanding his attention. "Are you, _you_?" 

Lucifer sat up, staring at the distant wall. His hand trembled as he brought it up to his face. 

"Lucifer?" Chloe asked. 

He smiled and took her hand. "I'm back." 

Chloe's feelings warred within her. "Do you remember the past few days?" 

"Bits and pieces. The attack on the pier left me incomplete." He took Chloe's hand. "But I remember what you said. And us. Is this real, Detective?" 

Chloe surged forward, arms around him, holding close. "As real as anything ever is." 


End file.
